https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huUnAC9_jjk&feature=youtu.be
German shoe company Birkenstock is the first major brand ever to pull out of Amazon’s U.S. online store.
The business relationship will end in January.
Birkenstock said it also will forbid all it’s third-party sellers from using Amazon to sell their shoes.
The problem, according to Birkenstock, is Amazon does not provide sufficient assistance in combating counterfeit, particularly from China, which hurts company profits for many companies big and small.
Birkenstock USA CEO David Kahan (obtained by CNBC): “The Amazon marketplace, which operates as an ‘open market,’ creates an environment where we experience unacceptable business practices which we believe jeopardize our brand. Policing this activity internally and in partnership with Amazon.com has proven impossible.
The CEO also said that Amazon won’t help prevent counterfeits unless companies let Amazon sell their whole product line.
Photo: Michael Rehfeldt