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Lights remain on at a Portland Nike store, but no sign of reopening
Jan. 28, 2023 at 11:00 am
The Nike factory store on N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Northeast
Portland was closed to the public on Jan. 18. (Kristine de Leon /
oregonlive.com / TNS)

The Nike factory store on N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Northeast
Portland was closed to the public on Jan. 18. (Kristine de Leon /
oregonlive.com / TNS)
By Kristine de Leon
oregonlive.com
The Nike store in Northeast Portland has been mostly closed to the
public for months, and it’s unclear whether the closure is temporary or
permanent.

There’s no sign posted to the storefront on 2650 N.E. Martin Luther King
Jr. Blvd. noting hours or when the doors will reopen. Nike’s website
says the location is “closed for the next 7 days.”

Nike abruptly closed its downtown Seattle store earlier this month after
more than two decades. The shoe and fitness gear company didn’t offer a
reason for that store’s closure, but it comes as the company is shifting
its retail strategy with more focus on direct-to-consumer sales, both at
physical locations and online. It’s opening a new store in Bellevue.

That closure renews questions about Nike’s plans for its retail
footprint, particularly at the Portland Community store that’s already
been effectively shuttered for months.

A story by KGW-TV in November suggested rampant theft was the reason for
the Portland store’s closure. According to Portland police crime data,
there were 276 shoplifting cases reported at the store last year.

Nike officials told one community leader that theft at the store has
skyrocketed, hurting the location’s revenue, and that its future is far
from certain. Nike did not respond to repeated questions from The
Oregonian/OregonLive about the closure.

The store isn’t empty. On Jan. 18, workers could be seen inside the
store restocking shelves in the shoe section of the store, while neat
stacks of folded shirts and sweaters and racks of athletic apparel were
kept on display. The only thing missing was customers.

It had been this way for most of the last quarter of 2022, and the
company won’t say when or if it will reopen.

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The Nike Community Store has been a staple in its Portland neighborhood,
once the core of the city’s Black population, since it opened in June 1984.

Portland civil rights and education activist Ron Herndon and the Black
United Front worked with Nike in the 1980s to bring the brand’s first
factory store to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, then called Union Avenue.

“This was a time when there was no investment from the city and the area
was decaying. And we felt like there were a number of businesses that
could help support the Black community,” he said. “Nike did what no
other entity, whether city agency or organization, was prepared to do.”

Herndon said Nike stepped in and agreed to establish its first outlet
store that would not only invest the profits into Portland’s Black
community, but also hire workers from the neighborhood. He said the
sneaker company has kept all its promises with the community since.

“That store has always been a tremendous source of pride within the
Black community,” he said. Herndon said he’s talked with Nike officials
involved in the decision making for the store’s future and said, “It’s
painful for them to think of never opening it again.”

Herndon said the store has always had issues with theft over the course
of its nearly 30 years of existence but that instances of shoplifting
and vandalism have shot up since the pandemic. He said it makes sense a
retailer would “want to close down if it’s losing daily business from
open, brazen theft.”

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“You’d think the city would want to do something if they’re about to
lose an anchor store in the Black community that has suffered
historically from divestment,” he said. “But no, the mayor and the
leadership are just going to sit by and watch them leave — a great
example of political detachment with the Black community.”

Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office said that the city and Portland Police Bureau
have been working with Nike executives on addressing retail theft and
safety issues.

“We are exploring all opportunities available to further support the
Community Store, which is an incredibly important and valued space in
our city,” the mayor’s office said.

John Washington, executive director of the Soul District Business
Association, said Nike’s investment in the community helped catalyze
economic growth in the area. He said the store has attracted other
restaurants and retailers to open up along Northeast Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard.

“There’s a lot more visibility to the area because of the Nike store,”
Washington said. “The store draws people to the area, where they can
then explore all the little gems of Northeast Portland.”

Washington said the business district association has not heard from
Nike whether the store would reopen or shutter for good.

Washington said that he saw the store opened a few times in December
during the holiday shopping season. He said Nike might have closed the
store again for renovations inside, or the company could be
transitioning to doing more online orders.

“If Nike were to really close the store without prior notice, it would
definitely be a betrayal to the community,” he said. “We hope that they
continue to be supportive of the community. We hope they don’t abandon
us if they’re in transition. We’re remaining optimistic given the
history we have with them.”

Kristine de Leon
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