Nike pulls Undercover shoe line from China

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 27, 2019

Global sportswear giant Nike has stopped the sale of its Undercover footwear range in China after the Japanese brand led by designer Jun Takahashi posted a message in support of protests in Hong Kong on its Instagram account earlier this month.
 

The decision was first reported on Wednesday by The Financial Times, which explained that a number of Chinese retailers had removed the shoes from their shelves with no explanation after Undercover posted a photo of protesters with the slogan “no extradition to China”.
 
The photo, which reportedly resulted in backlash from Chinese social media users, has since been deleted by the brand, which claimed that the post represented an “individual opinion” and should not have been posted.

On Thursday, Nike confirmed that it had indeed withdrawn the Undercover footwear line from China in a statement given to CNBC. “Based on feedback from Chinese consumers, we have withdrawn from China a small number of products that were designed by a collaborator,” said a spokesperson from the company.

Large protests have been taking place in Hong Kong over the last few months in reaction to a proposed law which would allow extraditions to mainland China, legislation which has stoked fears that the special administrative region is losing its autonomy from Beijing.
 
Protests have continued despite the Hong Kong government’s decision to suspend the bill indefinitely.