Nike/Niketown Detroit

**Detroitdave** · April-10-13, 08:11 AM

Hi all ! I not sure this has been mention here but .

I have it on pretty good authority that Nike / Nike town is coming to Downtown Detroit !
If this does happen this would be great for Downtown. Even better than , dare I say, than cheesecake factory !

This would be the only store in the state for sure, and destination for the region.

Any thoughts ?

**iheartthed** · April-10-13, 08:14 AM

This [[thread) will be good.

**artds** · April-10-13, 08:14 AM

Oh boy. Here we go again.

**DetroitPlanner** · April-10-13, 08:16 AM

LOL I can remember the last Niketown we had. It was little more than a room in a storefront that sold god-awful looking shoes and clothes that were over priced.

**Bham1982** · April-10-13, 08:21 AM

Nike hasn't built a Niketown in well over a decade. There are only a few Niketowns in the world. Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and one or two others.

Unless Gilbert is paying Nike a bajillion dollars to restart the brand, I say your sources are wrong.

**iheartthed** · April-10-13, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by DetroitPlanner

LOL I can remember the last Niketown we had. It was little more than a room in a storefront that sold god-awful looking shoes and clothes that were over priced.

Detroit has never had a Niketown.

http://nymag.com/listings/stores/niketown_new_york/

**Detroitdave** · April-10-13, 08:25 AM

That was NEVER a Nike /Niketown store, that was a athlete's foot, they only carried Nike stuff.
This store would be from NIKE the company.
Also to all the pessimist , the SAME thing was said about one Whole Foods ."they will never build a Whole Foods in Detroit what are they crazy" , Well drive by Woodward and Mack and get back at me !
:-)
BTW the lights are on at Whole Foods and the sign is lit up !

WHAT ? a few locations ? uh I don't think so
http://www.nikerepository.com/nike-l...tore-locations
Most of those are outlet stores but SEVERAL are actual stores.
If and it's a big IF, Downtown got a store ,not an outlet, that would be spades !
Stranger things have happen in Downtown Detroit

**iheartthed** · April-10-13, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

WHAT ? a few locations ? uh I don't think so
http://www.nikerepository.com/nike-l...tore-locations

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

**Detroit Stylin** · April-10-13, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

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** · April-10-13, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Detroit Stylin

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

**Bham1982** · April-10-13, 08:43 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

Also to all the pessimist , the SAME thing was said about one Whole Foods ."they will never build a Whole Foods in Detroit what are they crazy"

Yeah, but that's before we know we were getting a mini-Whole Foods, and that taxpayers were footing the bill. Whole Foods' business strategy doesn't really contradict the naysayers.

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

WHAT ? a few locations ? uh I don't think so
http://www.nikerepository.com/nike-l...tore-locations

I'm on the official Nike site, and I count five Niketown locations-

NYC
Beverly Hills
San Francisco
Boston
Seattle

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

**Cincinnati_Kid** · April-10-13, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by Bham1982

Yeah, but that's before we know we were getting a mini-Whole Foods, and that taxpayers were footing the bill. Whole Foods' business strategy doesn't really contradict the naysayers.

I'm on the official Nike site, and I count five Niketown locations-

NYC
Beverly Hills
San Francisco
Boston
Seattle

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

I thought for sure Chicago had one. I guess not.

**ccal** · April-10-13, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

I thought for sure Chicago had one. I guess not.

They still do

**TexasT** · April-10-13, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

I thought for sure Chicago had one. I guess not.

We had one in Chicago on the Mag Mile.

**JBMcB** · April-10-13, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

I thought for sure Chicago had one. I guess not.

The Chicago Niketown may have been the first, I think. In 2012 it moved down the street a bit and re-opened recently.

**jaytheory** · April-10-13, 08:41 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitdave

Hi all ! I not sure this has been mention here but .

I have it on pretty good authority that Nike / Nike town is coming to Downtown Detroit !
If this does happen this would be great for Downtown. Even better than , dare I say, than cheesecake factory !

This would be the only store in the state for sure, and destination for the region.

Any thoughts ?

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.

**Detroitdave** · April-10-13, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by jaytheory

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 ?

**401don** · April-10-13, 08:51 AM

As was mentioned there's a difference between the flagship style Niketown's and the regular Nike stores which you find in malls and outlet locations everywhere. These stores are similar to a Champs. I'm guessing, if true, it will be a regular Nike.

**iheartthed** · April-10-13, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by 401don

As was mentioned there's a difference between the flagship style Niketown's and the regular Nike stores which you find in malls and outlet locations everywhere. These stores are similar to a Champs. I'm guessing, if true, it will be a regular Nike.

Yeah, if true, it will very likely be a Nike store. It's still a nice draw to downtown Detroit since there are no Nike retail stores in Michigan either, other than the outlet stores. A Niketown, however, is an entirely different beast. Chicago doesn't even have one...

**GRdetfan** · April-10-13, 07:43 PM

Originally Posted by iheartthed

Chicago doesn't even have one...

Au contraire...Chicago does have a Niketown on Michigan Avenue. It was completely remodeled in 2012.

**Bham1982** · April-10-13, 07:58 PM

Originally Posted by GRdetfan

Au contraire...Chicago does have a Niketown on Michigan Avenue. It was completely remodeled in 2012.

I don't think Chicago has a Niketown.

The Nike website labels the Michigan Ave. location as a regular Nike store, not a Niketown. It's highly unlikely Nike's website is mislabeling their own store.

**GRdetfan** · April-10-13, 08:14 PM

If you are on Michigan Avenue, the Nike store has a "NikeTown" marquee. So while the website may not list it as such, it signed as a Niketown location. It is fairly large [[4 levels I think) and over-priced, much like other manufacturers' stores on Michigan Avenue [[Garmin, Columbia, for example).

**wolverine** · April-11-13, 12:38 AM

Originally Posted by GRdetfan

Au contraire...Chicago does have a Niketown on Michigan Avenue. It was completely remodeled in 2012.

It was remodeled, but rebranded as a flagship store, but it's not called Niketown. Part of the renovations was to increase store square footage by removing some of the atrium space and adding another floor.

Btw, I've noticed some people talking about downtown workers and their relationship to boosting the retail scene. That's not really true. Workers don't shop as much as you think. It's tourism and residents that support all of that, not workers.

Chicagoans tend to be pretty light shoppers on Michigan Ave, especially with the special zones sales taxes which thankfully were reduced quite a bit a couple months ago. But regardless of higher prices for the same stuff you'd find cheaper elsewhere, the avenue was a huge draw because of local, national, and international tourists. Since I share an address I receive updates for happenings, developments, and sometimes pretty data charts. Tourism is higher than it's ever been at around 45,000,000 annually, and they directly support 125,000 jobs. Tourism accounts for nearly 35% of the city's tax intake.

Those are big numbers, and they show exactly what it takes to build a pretty solid shopping avenue. I think Woodward will be something more like State Street. It caters heavily to a residential base and has more mid-range national chains. Future streetcar access linking residents to this area basically shadows what Chicago has with those strong transit connections. But again, I wouldn't count on workers to fully support retail. They will most definitely help restaurants, but on Monday-Thurs retail is pretty steady and doesn't get chaotic till the weekends.

I know some people don't like the chain retail, but you must absolutely have it. Independent retailers aren't typically long term leaseholders. On major shopping streets that gain quite a bit of value, independent retailers always loose feast or famine. When business is bad, they can't pay the rent. When business is great, their landlord announces their 10 year lease contract is no longer valid, and they must pack up and leave in 90 days and don't bother trying to take it to court. The tenants back out, so they can get a major tenant in the space. We had two city blocks of independent retailers have their leases terminated because they "weren't part of the future plan." Personally, I feel this is unfortunate since you need that retail diversity. But to keep Woodward stable and steady with shoppers, expect chain retail like Target, TJ Max, DSW, Mega-Walgreens that will be there for the long haul and pay alot for those spaces.

That said, I'd bet money Woodward has the potential to be a very successful shopping street. It's only now that someone has taken charge and will build the downtown business ecosystem from scratch..and all at once.

**detmsp** · April-11-13, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by wolverine

Workers don't shop as much as you think. It's tourism and residents that support all of that, not workers.

Bingo. According to my company's data, the vast majority of our sales in downtown stores come from residents who live within .5 mile. We get plenty of downtown workers walking through our stores, but they just don't buy nearly as much as residents.

**canuck** · April-11-13, 05:46 AM

Originally Posted by wolverine

We had two city blocks of independent retailers have their leases terminated because they "weren't part of the future plan." Personally, I feel this is unfortunate since you need that retail diversity. But to keep Woodward stable and steady with shoppers, expect chain retail like Target, TJ Max, DSW, Mega-Walgreens that will be there for the long haul and pay alot for those spaces.

That said, I'd bet money Woodward has the potential to be a very successful shopping street. It's only now that someone has taken charge and will build the downtown business ecosystem from scratch..and all at once.

Shopping mall owners do this pruning to get higher end brand name shops. Last year there was a story here about the local big mall [[Fairview) not renewing the lease for a long time tenant; a very profitable but costume type jewelry store. They told them they didnt fit into their long term plans for the mall...