The Strange Way Nike Works with Counterfeit Manufacturers

Can experts actually tell the difference between a counterfeit Nike sneaker and a real Nike sneaker? Find out all about it in this video!

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Illusions
Most documentaries and journalistic articles focus on the artistic counterfeiting—that is, the fake replicas of popular products, such as Nike shoes. In reality, your average run of the mill counterfeit Nike shoe is actually real. Straight from the Nike factories in China.

Counterfeiting
To understand counterfeit shoes, first you need to understand why they exist in the first place, and the system that helped create them. Counterfeit products have been around for decades. And counterfeit shoes have been around just as long, since the 70s in fact. But the early fakes were at least honest about being fake.

Limited Editions
The late 90s and early 2000s saw a big push towards something even more vulnerable to being knocked off by lowly brands and counterfeit manufacturers: collectible sneakers. Nike started releasing limited edition versions of their flagship shoe, the Air Jordan, and created a whole new industry for counterfeiters.

Sneakerheads
Sneakerheads are a competitive bunch. They’re also skeptical. With that combination, the online sneaker resale market is Heaven for them. In the 2000s, sneaker collecting became more than just a fun hobby. It was serious business. Other sneakerhead’s opinions mattered more and more, and your ability to acquire the right shoes at the right time was everything.

Authenticity
At the same time, sneaker collectors wanted to appear authentic themselves. And in modern times, another meaning for authenticity is “being better than everyone else.” For a sneakerhead it's about being better than other sneakerheads.

Lin’s Story
The New York Times interviewed a sneaker forger and learned the methods they use to make near perfect copies of the real ones. The most common method, according to the forger, is to simply buy a pair of sneakers from the store and make a copy. The informant, who went by the name Lin, described the process.

Supplied PDX
In the mid-2010s, Supplied PDX was a major online shoe seller. They had the latest Air Jordans before some of the authorized dealers could even put them on the shelves. Naturally, Pepion’s too good to be true business got the attention of federal investigators, specifically Homeland Security and the good ole IRS.

The Grey Market
Everyone from Lin to James Pepion are mere components of the infamous and controversial Grey Market. The Grey Market is…well…grey. It's not black or white. It’s not just counterfeit shoes, cloned shoes, or authentic shoes, it’s everything and then some.

The Resale Market
Even though we know how the market became what it is today, understanding how massive the collectible sneaker market is helps put the bizarre things you’ve heard into perspective.

StockX
In the recent past, Stock X has been valued at roughly $3.8 billion. With that high of a valuation, they are one of the biggest shoe resellers on the planet. Of course, they don’t just sell sneakers. They also run a media division that provides sneakerheads with the latest and most relevant news on the luxury sneaker market.

Nike vs StockX
In a major effort to crack down on the constant patent and design infringement, Nike is suing Stock X for selling counterfeit sneakers. The suit was originally about NFTs, but Nike switched the focus to counterfeit sneakers—apparently after investigating the company’s products.

Видео The Strange Way Nike Works with Counterfeit Manufacturers канала Enterprises Explained