Nike will sever ties with thousands of online distributors in China starting in January, directing shoppers to its own digital properties and dedicated storefronts on Tmall, JD.com and Douyin. Cathy Sparks, Nike's vice president and general manager of Greater China, said the move responds to inconsistent pricing and a fragmented brand image, while emphasizing that it is not intended to reduce access. Topsports, Nike's largest distributor in mainland China, supports the change despite anticipating short-term pressure and plans to focus more heavily on physical retail. The restrictions do not cover brick-and-mortar partners. Nike is also expanding its Greater China product-creation team to twice its previous headcount and has appointed the market's first vice-president-level leader dedicated to product creation. The strategy seeks to win back younger Chinese consumers through locally designed products, including goods drawing on traditional Chinese motifs. Greater China revenue fell 17% on a constant-currency basis in Nike's latest fiscal quarter, following a 10% decline in the prior period; the region represents roughly 15% of annual sales. Nike shares have fallen more than 35% so far in 2026. BNP Paribas analyst Laurent Vasilescu said the approach resembles Nike's earlier withdrawal from North American wholesale accounts, which he said weakened its competitive position and hurt sales and margins. BNP Paribas maintains an underperform rating and said Nike faces a product problem rather than a distributor problem.