Nike/Niketown Detroit

[iheartthed]

I doubt these are 100k in size, but other than that you got it.

The Manhattan Niketown has 95K sq ft.

[Detroitdave]

Good news if true, but we it needs to be next to mossejaw or something, I hope they dont spread it out to much.


Also, what is your source, if you cant tell the name what is the level of in the know of said source.

Nothing is 100% sure until the lease is sign and the sign is up on the building , My sources have been pretty good and with Dan Gilbert saying he wants and is looking for unique upscale stores to Downtown Detroit stores . Also with only 3 official stores, although outlets, in the state

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/sl/find...lay_country=US

and none really close, great lakes is the closest and it's only an outlet store.

I would think this could be more than wishful thinking this time around ?

If this does come to fruition , it will be close to "Moosejaw" :-) notice the Quotes? ;-) and they should know because they just sign a multi year lease so they may know "something" I'm just saying .

Hey and if I'm wrong I'm wrong , but if it's gonna happen this is a good time? Either way this time around it MAY be more than wishful thinking , only time will tell ?

[illwill]

As much as we talk about Chicago it looks like we're excited to get the same stores they have. Woodward Ave in time, will be no different than Michigan Avenue. I think all American cities are the same in my humble opinion...pretty generic. New York to Chicago to San Francisco.

What makes a great city are it's people and the neighborhoods. I hope Detroit will ALWAYS put it's own flair on any brand-name company that opens in the Downtown. We have a chance to be unique during our rebuilding stage. I'd hate to become a mini NY or CHI.

[Shollin]

Woodward has a long ways to go to become Michigan Ave. Lets not kid ourselves.

[401don]

I have visited Minny, Cincy and Pittsburgh in the last few yrs. and all of these successful mid-west cities have more retail than Detroit. There's still not a lot of mid-level clothing stores however. There just seem to be more drug, dollar, phone stores, etc. and coffee shops at street level. Both Minny and Cincy have small downtown malls anchored by Target or Macy's. I hope Detroit is successful and I'm not advocating a mall but it's not going to be easy to find the right mix. There needs to be the coffee shops, flower stores, dry cleaners, etc. that create foot traffic leading them to stop into the clothing stores. There will definitely be some growing pains.

[Detroitdave]

@ Illwill & Shollin I agree great cities are the people and neighborhoods , there was an article in the huffington post about the most overrated cities chicago #7 and where to go instead [[Detroit) because of the people, they are Polite, we are nice , and we are cheaper LOL :-) hey I'll take it ! :-)
I remember when they built one of the first NIKETOWNS in LA/Beverly Hills, it's still there , it was cool at the time , then every star wanted a vanity project, IE Planet Hollywood, Fashion Cafe, that crazy Britney Spears place , Billboard live,ect.
I lived in LA for many ,many , years and I saw that place change and not for the better :-[[ it's way too commercial now . I just visited and they are OVERBUILDING that place to HELL !
They tore down my old quint grocery store and putting up a 7 story apt building ! and this is happening up and down La Brea and all over Hollywood .
They are tearing out the small cool bungalows 8 units with courtyards and building monsters !
The small character LA had left is being lost :-[[
"they paved paradise and put up a parking lot " :-[[
but I digress , Detroit has LONG way to go before that .

[daveyarm]

"Consider that you have a huge market of people [[mainly black people) that they cater to around the store with the hip hop culture and all."

The writer of this needs an update on Downtown Detroit. The new demographic includes a huge number of mostly young, former suburbanite, white folks who have moved to Downtown.

[DetroitPlanner]

But, What about Bob?
http://www.bobsclassickicks.com/

[Bham1982]

The writer of this needs an update on Downtown Detroit. The new demographic includes a huge number of mostly young, former suburbanite, white folks who have moved to Downtown.

And, by "huge", you mean, absolute max, a couple of thousand new people downtown, as opposed to the 700,000 Detroiters already living there.

[TexasT]

And, by "huge", you mean, absolute max, a couple of thousand new people downtown, as opposed to the 700,000 Detroiters already living there.

700,000 Detroiters live downtown?

And it's not just residents of downtown and midtown that will be shopping there - downtown workers will as well and there's at least ten thousand more downtown workers since mid-2010. There's a reason there was a separate shopping district in the Central Business District inside the Loop in Chicago aside from the Mag Mile for the tourists. I think there was a study referenced by Gilbert that the average day worker spends thousands a year around the area in which he/she works [[I thought it said $8K but I can't find the article).

EDIT: Here it is... "In terms of demand, Gibbs said that research shows that employees spend $8,000 per year near their workplace. And the rule of thumb is that for every employee in a downtown area, 25 square feet of retail can be supported."

[313WX]

And, by "huge", you mean, absolute max, a couple of thousand new people downtown, as opposed to the 700,000 Detroiters already living there.

I have to agree with Bham for once.

1. Young, white kids from the suburbs just aren't the demographic stores such as Nike would attract. Whoever thinks otherwise hasn't been inside a Nike store.

2. The actual residential population growth has been modest at best. There are still census tracts that are losing population.

[313WX]

700,000 Detroiters live downtown?

And it's not just residents of downtown and midtown that will be shopping there - downtown workers will as well and there's at least ten thousand more downtown workers since mid-2010. There's a reason there was a separate shopping district in the Central Business District inside the Loop in Chicago aside from the Mag Mile for the tourists. I think there was a study referenced by Gilbert that the average day worker spends thousands a year around the area in which he/she works [[I thought it said $8K but I can't find the article).

Downtown Chicago has a residential population of 100,000. And we're not talking about college students or recent college graduates, but professionals making big bucks [[Gold Coast).

Chicago's worker population is at least 1/2 million. I don't even think Downtown has cracked 00,000 yet.

[Detroitdave]

Moosejaw was the cannery in the cave test per-say ,and they are doing quite well.
There is a pent up demand for shopping in Downtown Detroit, when people come downtown or are visiting [[i.e hotels) ,they are looking for stuff to do or see before a game or show or whatever .

[TexasT]

Downtown Chicago has a residential population of 100,000. And we're not talking about college students or recent college graduates, but professionals making big bucks [[Gold Coast).

Chicago's worker population is at least 1/2 million. I don't even think Downtown has cracked 00,000 yet.

Okay - not saying Detroit will need a shopping avenue similar to that of State Street. My point was and is, with Detroit's current and growing downtown population, the retail stores there should reflect who actually lives and spends time in that area, not the city of Detroit as a whole [[the entire 700,000 population). Niketown seems like an odd choice to me unless it's part of a larger group of stores.

[Shollin]

Downtown Chicago has a residential population of 100,000. And we're not talking about college students or recent college graduates, but professionals making big bucks [[Gold Coast).

Chicago's worker population is at least 1/2 million. I don't even think Downtown has cracked 00,000 yet.

The entire city of Detroit only has a 350,000 workforce and all the census tracts I've seen from 2010 has shown a population decrease in every area of the city.

[corktownyuppie]

Moosejaw was the cannery in the cave test per-say ,and they are doing quite well.
There is a pent up demand for shopping in Downtown Detroit, when people come downtown or are visiting [[i.e hotels) ,they are looking for stuff to do or see before a game or show or whatever .

I was talking to the employees at Moosejaw, and they said that their sales volume on Opening Day was through the roof. I'm not saying that we can support a Niketown or Apple Store or whatever. But I do think that there is pent-up demand for downtown shopping.

[TexasT]

I was talking to the employees at Moosejaw, and they said that their sales volume on Opening Day was through the roof. I'm not saying that we can support a Niketown or Apple Store or whatever. But I do think that there is pent-up demand for downtown shopping.

Exactly. With 10M+ visitors to the greater downtown area annually, I'd be inclined to agree.

[Detroit Stylin]

There are only five Niketowns in the country [[world?): NYC, LA, SF, Boston and Seattle.

Honolulu has one. I've shopped there while stationed in Hawaii...

[iheartthed]

The entire city of Detroit only has a 350,000 workforce and all the census tracts I've seen from 2010 has shown a population decrease in every area of the city.

Yeah, because only people who live in the city of Detroit will be allowed to shop downtown. Just like only people who live in Troy shop at Somerset.

[Shollin]

Yeah, because only people who live in the city of Detroit will be allowed to shop downtown. Just like only people who live in Troy shop at Somerset.

Well considering you ignored the job part of my post, you need either people working and/or living in Detroit to support retail. Who builds upscale retail in an area that is declining in population? Troy has a stable population, not too mention most of the cities bordering Troy are stable unlike downtown where the bordering neighborhoods are anything but stable.

[dtowncitylover]

Yeah, because only people who live in the city of Detroit will be allowed to shop downtown. Just like only people who live in Troy shop at Somerset.

Some people here would really welcome such an idea.

[iheartthed]

Honolulu has one. I've shopped there while stationed in Hawaii...

According to their web site they don't have any type of Nike retail store in Hawaii. And the store in Chicago is listed as a Nike retail store on the web site. Not sure why the discrepancy, since I see that it is branded as a Niketown on the actual store front [[via Google Maps).

http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/sl/find...lay_country=US

[iheartthed]

Well considering you ignored the job part of my post, you need either people working and/or living in Detroit to support retail. Who builds upscale retail in an area that is declining in population? Troy has a stable population, not too mention most of the cities bordering Troy are stable unlike downtown where the bordering neighborhoods are anything but stable.

Okay, well take your money and go build something in Troy.

[TexasT]

Troy has a stable population, not too mention most of the cities bordering Troy are stable unlike downtown where the bordering neighborhoods are anything but stable.

The cities bordering Detroit are stable no, and easily accessible to downtown? I think the point is to either give a place for the 10M visitors already coming here to spend their money, or attract even more visitors from outside of Detroit.

And I'm not sure who was talking about upscale retail here. We're not talking BCBG or Saks at this point.

[Shollin]

Okay, well take your money and go build something in Troy.

They already have everything in Troy that Detroit wants. I'm not sure what your point is.