NKE Nike Inc

By Liza Lin 

SHANGHAI -- China's state broadcaster on Wednesday accused Nike Inc. of making false advertising claims in connection with its basketball shoes, the second time the country has leveled such a complaint against the world's largest sportswear maker.

The claims were leveled during China Central Television's annual March 15 or "315" broadcast, which coincides with World Consumer Rights Day. The broadcaster said that a model of Nike's Kobe basketball shoes was advertised as containing its signature "zoom air" cushion.

In social-media forums, Chinese consumers have complained about the discomfort of the shoes. One buyer approached Nike and was told the shoes did not contain an air cushion and offered a refund, CCTV reported.

Nike's China spokespersons did not reply to requests for comments late Wednesday. The company's spokesmen in New York and Oregon also did not reply to requests for comment.

Nike faced similar accusations in 2012, when state media said the sportswear brand was fined 4.87 million yuan ($704,000 in today's terms) based on claims that it was overcharging consumers and advertising its high-end basketball shoes as having a double air-cushion, when the shoes were found to only have one. Nike China apologized and offered refunds for the consumers who bought the affected shoes, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Although scarcely noticed in the U.S., March 15 has become something of an unofficial holiday in China thanks to the annual two-hour broadcast by CCTV spotlighting corporate misdeeds. The show has hit a chord in a country where consumers have few avenues for redress when it comes to dealing with fake and faulty products, or poor customer service.

In the past, CCTV has issued accusations against foreign businesses including Volkswagen AG, Apple Inc., McDonald's Corp. and retailer Carrefour SA on issues ranging from food safety to quality defects and subpar customer service. In 2013, the broadcaster accused VW of selling cars in China with substandard direct-shift gearbox systems, causing acceleration problems and car accidents for an unspecified number of consumers. Volkswagen said then it planned to fix gears with problems for customers in China.

China has been one of Nike's fastest-growing regional segments in recent years, and a priority as the Beaverton, Ore.-based company faces stiffer sales competition there from chief rival Adidas AG. Nike reported sales in Greater China of $1 billion for its most recent quarter, up 13% from the year prior.

--Wayne Ma in Beijing and Sara Germano in New York contributed to this article.

Write to Liza Lin at Liza.Lin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 15, 2017 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)

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