China's state-run television station called out Nike on Wednesday, addressing a 2016 issue over the brand's description of a pair of Kobe sneakers. According to CGTN, the claim of false advertising stems from a 2016 social media post from Nike saying the shoes had its Zoom cushioning technology.
The sneaker at the center of the controversy is the Nike Hyperdunk '08 FTB, a retro shoe released as part of the "Fade to Black" pack referencing Kobe Bryant's retirement.
CGTN reports that Nike Basketball posted about the shoes on social media platform Weibo last April, mentioning that they had Zoom in the soles. One customer found that wasn't the case after buying a pair and cutting them open, and discovered that others online had realized the same after some research. Customers formed a group to file their complaint, and received confirmation from Nike that the sneakers lacked Zoom.
Per CGTN, Nike agreed to refund purchases for consumers who were misled by the inaccurate info.
China Central Television addressed the Kobe sneaker incident in its annual consumer rights day show. The program has leveraged such claims against Nike before, saying in 2012 that the sportswear giant misled shoppers about the cushioning in its shoes.
Nike has apologized for the Kobe sneaker mishap, saying that it offered compensation to consumers as soon as it was made aware of the issue.
"Nike is committed to providing consumers with the highest product quality and service and we will fully cooperate with the government regulators regarding their inquiry," a Nike spokesperson tells Sole Collector. Per Nike, 300 pairs of the shoes featuring the inaccurate description were sold in China.
While there's been no controversy around the shoes in the U.S., it appears that a page on Nike's North American website contains misleading information about the same shoe. At the time of writing, the Nike Hyperdunk '08 FTB page here mentions a Zoom unit in the heel. A Nike rep hasn't been able to confirm with Sole Collector whether pairs sold in America differ from the ones in China, but there's not much precedent for such a disparity.
Some pairs of the Nike Hyperdunk retros recently released actually do use Zoom in the heel. As noted by Wear Testers last July, the "United We Rise" reissue featured the cushioning. Nike's been up front about the pairs lacking Zoom in the past, its copy describing shoes as having a "foam midsole" instead.
What's more, the Nike Hyperdunk '08 sneakers discussed here are retro models not truly intended for performance wear. Had Nike misrepresented the technology used in a modern design actually meant for present-day, on-court wear, the error would certainly be more egregious.
These mishaps over sneaker info are not entirely new to Nike's website. Nike-owned Jordan Brand recently came under fire in the U.S. over a product page for its Air Jordan 15 retro that falsely described the shoe as having two Zoom Air units.
