DETROIT – Sneaker giant Nike is accusing Detroit’s online marketplace and clothing reseller StockX of knowingly selling counterfeit sneakers.
Nike has an ongoing lawsuit against StockX, filed in August but unsealed the week ending Nov. 16.
In the filing, Nike scoffs at StockX and their authenticity process as they say the reseller admitted that its authenticators could not determine if sneakers and apparel were authentic.
Nike says StockX passed fake footwear as real and that the company has no idea of the percentage of counterfeit sneakers that were falsely authenticated and shipped to unannounced customers.
Court documents revealed that counterfeit versions of several popular shoe releases have slipped past StockX’s authentication process, including Ben and Jerry’s “Chunky Dunky” SB Dunk, the Grateful Dead SB Dunks, Off-White x Air Jordan 2s, and more.
Nike said StockX had downplayed the narrative of fake sneakers passing through its authentication process while encouraging the reselling of counterfeit sneakers.
Nike is accusing StockX of running a fraudulent sneaker ring. They believe a reselling company in downtown Detroit sold more than 1,800 products on the platform before eventually ceasing operations.
The sneaker giant wants the courts to rule in their favor based on its evidence against StockX and its practices of selling fake sneakers and falsely advertising legitimacy.
StockX has refuted Nike’s claims.
“Nike’s claims are completely misguided. Contrary to their allegations, StockX is a leader in the fight against counterfeiting, a pervasive issue affecting brands globally. It’s why verification has been at our core since inception, and because of our leadership in this space Nike has previously recommended StockX to its customers, partnered with StockX, and praised StockX as “a good actor.” We have invested millions of dollars in technology, training, and tooling to deliver on our commitment to our customers, and we stand behind our verification process with our Buyer Promise.
The products in question in this case amount to a mere 0.0004% of the 17.8 million Nike sneakers StockX reviewed while this litigation was ongoing. Compare that to the more than $80,000,000 of suspected counterfeit sneakers alone that StockX has prevented from being sold on our platform. StockX has long done our part to prevent bad actors from trading on our platform, but we can’t do it alone. It’s a shame that rather than work with us to fight fakes, Nike has opted to use its resources to pursue meritless, expensive litigation and persecute a company that has long worked to fight the prevalence of counterfeits."
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