Nike is ending online sales agreements with potentially hundreds of distributors in China as part of a sweeping effort to revive flagging sales in the region.

The athletic apparel and footwear company plans to turn off or close digital storefronts beginning in January, with some exceptions for licensee partners, Nike said in a statement. The exact number of deals that will be ended wasn’t specified, but Nike said there are currently more than 1,000 online sellers in China.

“All these digital storefronts have created an overly complex and fragmented consumer experience,” the company said. “Our partners also understand the need to reset the marketplace.”

China has been a persistent pain point for CEO Elliott Hill, even as Nike sees signs of progress in regions such as North America and robust demand in its running business. Revenue in Greater China has been falling for the last two years.

Hill said earlier this month that Nike was planning a “comprehensive reset” for its China operations. The effort involves working with partners to “be more premium, more culturally connected and move at the speed of Chinese consumers,” the CEO said on the company’s quarterly earnings call.

Sportswear retailers Topsports International Holdings and Pou Sheng International Holdings each said they received notices that online sales of Nike products in mainland China will terminate at the start of 2027. Shares of both companies fell in Hong Kong on the news. Nike’s stock was down 2.3% at 1:37 p.m. in New York on Wednesday.

As part of the change, Nike plans to invest in its own retail locations, which number more than 200 in China, and is working with partners to improve physical stores.

The shift illustrates that Nike “is willing to accept a smaller revenue base in the Chinese market in favor of more profitable sales,” Citi analysts led by Paul Lejuez said in a note. He added that there’s a risk the move “may potentially be perceived by the Chinese consumer as a sign that NKE is abandoning the market to a greater extent.”

And Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Catherine Lim wrote that the decision “underscores a push to recapture pricing power and assert brand control, even if the tradeoff means sacrificing near-term local market share and potentially delaying its China rebound.”