Nike exec quits after son's trainer resale firm revealed
- Published
A top Nike executive in the US has resigned from the company after details of her son's booming sneaker resale business became public.
Ann Hebert, Nike's general manager for North America, stepped down following the Bloomberg Businessweek article.
In one case, he used a credit card in her name to purchase $132,000 worth of shoes, which he resold for a profit.
Nike defended Ms Hebert's conduct, saying she had disclosed her son's West Coast Streetwear firm in 2018.
"There was no violation of company policy, privileged information or conflicts of interest, nor is there any commercial affiliation between WCS LLC and Nike, including the direct buying or selling of Nike products," the company told Bloomberg.
The article describes how 19-year-old Joe Hebert used bots to swarm online sale sites, overcoming systems meant to limit purchases, to buy up popular, limited edition sneakers. He then could resell the shoes at a profit.
He told Bloomberg he never received information from his mother, who worked for the firm for more than 25 years.
West Coast Streetwear is part of a broader resale market for sneakers, which Cowen analysts in July estimated at $2bn in North America alone.
Nike in a statement said Ms Hebert had made the decision to resign.