Puma takes legal action against Shein for 'unauthorised distribution'

Since the Chinese online marketplace Shein opened up to third-party sellers, an increasing number of branded products have recently appeared there whose distribution via the platform has not been authorised by the brands.

This also includes the sports goods manufacturers Puma and Adidas. According to research by WirtschaftsWoche, Adidas Samba sneakers, for example, were sold there for 62.29 euros, despite normally costing 120 euros.

Over 700 products from Adidas and over 100 products from Puma were listed on the Shein shop. Where exactly the goods came from is unclear. Shein has not commented on this, but stressed that the products are not counterfeits. Puma has now taken legal action against this.

Both companies have told Textilwirtschaft that these sales do not come from the brands themselves and that retailers are not authorised to resell these products via the platform. The products usually come from regular retailers who want to get rid of their remaining stock via Shein.

Similar incidents regularly occur, also on other marketplaces and not only in online trading.