Nike brings ‘Live’ store format to its birthplace
Nike has expanded its small-format Nike Live retail concept to its birthplace of Eugene, Ore.
Dubbed Nike by Eugene, the new store joins existing Nike Live locations in Los Angeles, Tokyo and New York. The format combines product based on local preference, freshly curated assortments dropping every three weeks, and a team of employees (or “store athletes”) with deep ties to their community. The new store also builds upon the learnings from the other Nike Live location, which are built to be lab-like spaces for testing and evolving new services, experiences and offerings.
More Slideshows
Similar to past Nike Live locations, the Eugene location offers an array of digitally-enabled services tied into the retailer's app to make membership more compelling and that allow customers to discover the best of Nike online or in-store at their own pace. A vending machine, “Nike Unlock Box,” lets members redeem free products and gifts every month.
The store’s featured services are BOPIS, including curbside pickup for online and app orders. It also has ship-from-store capabilities to fulfill online, which will allow consumers to get products faster and more efficiently, according to Nike.
STORE DESIGN
The store design references Nike’s history in Eugene, including a run map in the welcome area that highlights sites of Nike’s history throughout the city. Images of athletes whose careers were shaped by their experiences in the city are featured throughout the space, with the athletes’ historical records be found on wall graphics. And the sneaker bar is constructed from salvaged wood from the original Hayward Field, the stomping ground of Nike greats such as company co-founders Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight.
Nike Eugene is a LEED-certified location. In line with Nike’s move toward zero carbon and zero waste to protect the future of sport, additional considerations were made to ensure sustainable materials were incorporated into the design process for Nike by Eugene, which will continue to extend across future Nike Live destinations. A material called “Nike Grind” — made from recycled Nike footwear — is included in assorted elements, including mannequins, cork flooring and felt wall paneling and product hangers.
Additionally, reused mixed-material scraps were used across décor and fixture items throughout the store, including display pedestals, throw pillows made from Nike FlyKnit fabric remainders and even 3-D printed vases modeled from Nike Air Force 1, Epic React and Joyride outsoles.