A Colorado sports apparel and memorabilia store is closing following its move to stop selling Nike product as a protest against the brand’s embrace of Colin Kaepernick.
Stephen Martin, owner of Prime Time Sports in Colorado Springs, removed all Nike product last September after Nike’s launch of a marketing campaign that celebrated the anniversary of its “Just Do It” slogan. Among other stars, the effort featured Kaepernick along with the tagline, “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything.”
The store earned national coverage with the move and the removed inventory included Nike licensed merchandise, including NBA and NFL player jerseys.
“Being a sports store and not having Nike jerseys is kind of like being a gas station without gas. They have a virtual monopoly on jerseys,” Martin told NBC News.
Martin told CNN affiliate KOAA that sales had also been affected by the shift to online buying. His sales were down 15 percent in the past three years.
The store has been in operation for 20 years.
