Nike withdraws products from China amid Hong Kong controversy

Nike has withdrawn several product styles from Chinese retailers after its latest collaboration with Japanese streetwear brand Undercover courted controversy on social media.

The move comes as Undercover shared a political post on Instagram about the ongoing demonstrations concerning extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China. Undercover said it supported the protestors, captioning an image with "No extradition to China."

China is a key market for Nike, and its Daybreaker sneaker collaboration with Undercover that debuted on June 21st was already a hot item for local sneaker aficionados. Nike cannot afford to offend China, where consumer demand for its products is booming, and which last year saw the company post revenue of 1.38 billion dollars for the Greater China region, of which 70 percent came from footwear sales.

In a statement to Footwear News, Nike said: “Based on feedback from Chinese consumers, we have withdrawn from China a small number of products that were designed by a collaborator.”

Since the protests began, over a million people have taken to the street in Hong Kong to fight the local government’s decision to pass an extradition bill allowing Beijing the power to extradite individuals in the territory of Hong Kong to the mainland. Many have criticised the bill as a violation of human rights.

Undercover's Instagram post has since been deleted.

Nike x Undercover Daybreaker collaboration, source Undercover website