Nike has decided not to re-open its factory store in Portland, OR, which it closed temporarily last fall due to theft and safety issues.
The store first opened in 1984.
“Nike’s commitment to supporting and uplifting Portland’s North and Northeast community is unwavering,” Nike said in a media statement. “We are reimagining Nike’s retail space, permanently closing our current location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and considering future locations as part of this community’s long term revitalization plan. True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location.”
Nike quietly closed the store at some point in October, with no official statement other than a message on the company’s website saying “Closed for the next 7 days.” The store remained closed although Nike was reportedly working behind the scenes to reopen the location.
In a letter sent to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler in February, Nike officials confirmed that the store had closed due to “deteriorating public safety conditions and rapid escalation in retail theft.” The letter referenced prior meetings between Nike officials, city staff and the police, but a workable solution to reopen the store had not been reached.
Nike offered to directly pay for dedicated police support to reopen the store, either by contracting off-duty uniformed Portland Police Bureau officers to guard the store or by entering into an agreement with the city to fund additional full-time officers. However, the city reportedly couldn’t agree to the company’s proposal because it couldn’t spare any police officers.
In a statement Friday, Wheeler said he was “very disappointed” with the decision to make the store’s closure permanent.
“My team and City Staff have worked tirelessly and in good faith with Nike for almost a year to offer creative solutions to their safety challenges,” he said. “Ultimately, the City cannot offer Nike, or any other private business, with dedicated off-duty PPB officers due to PPB’s staffing shortage. I remain committed to supporting Nike’s future success in Portland and look forward to their future investments in our community.”
When it opened in 1984, the location represented Nike’s first Community Store, a business model that includes hiring 80 percent of workers from within 5 miles of the store and giving some profits back to local organizations. By 2006, the company had invested $1.2 million into the North and Northeast Portland community as a result of the store, according to Nike.
The store moved to its larger location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in 2000.
The neighborhood’s business group, the Soul District Business Association (SBDA), in a new release called the decision “a major economic blow.”
“This news has landed like a lead balloon in our district,” said John Washington, the SDBA’s executive director. “We had all been holding our breath since last November when the store quietly shuttered its doors due to internal and external theft and safety issues. But, like so many of us riding out the fallout of the pandemic and protests, we held out hope that Nike, city officials and community leaders would recalibrate and realign order. But it looks like it’s game over.”
