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 this week abruptly closed its downtown Seattle store after more than two decades. The shoe 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, an affluent Seattle suburb.
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 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 Wednesday, workers could be seen inside the store restocking shelves in the shoe section of the store, while neat stacks of folded shirts and sweaters racks of athletic apparel were kept on display. The only thing missing was customers.
It’s been this way for most of the last quarter of 2022, and the company won’t say when or if it will reopen. Nike officials did not respond to multiple emails seeking comment.
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 ever factory store on 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.”
“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 if and when 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, kdeleon@oregonian.com
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