The Japan Fair Trade Commission on Tuesday raided the Japan subsidiary of German sporting goods maker Adidas AG over its alleged pressuring of retailers not to discount its popular sports shoes series named EasyTone.
Kyodo News reported that Adidas Japan was suspected of pressuring retailers to sell the product for 10,000 to 15,000 yen ($118-to-$177), and of suspending shipments for stores that did not comply.
Adidas, the world's second-biggest sporting goods maker, began selling the EasyTone shoes, under the Reebok brand, in Japan in 2009. The series has more than half the market for muscle-toning shoes in Japan, estimated at about 10 billion yen annually, Kyodo said.
