- Nike has closed its first factory store, at least temporarily, because of the theft.
- The store has been a source of pride for Nike and the Northeast Portland community since it opened.
- Nike is working with Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler on a proposal to reopen the stores.
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Nike has temporarily closed a retail location in Portland, Oregon, that has the richest history in its store footprint due to ongoing theft.
Portland civil rights and education activist Ron Herndon told Insider about the closure of the Nike store on downtown MLK, “People were walking in there with bags already opened and picking up stuff and going through security doors unarmed.” were getting out of.” Boulevard.
Herndon worked with Nike to open the store in 1984.
The at least temporary closure of Nike stores comes as retailers across the country have responded in different ways to the estimated $95 billion problem of retail theft.
Nike’s proposed solution, according to a letter the company sent last week to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, includes allowing the company to hire off-duty police officers and empowering it to arrest shoppers, according to The Oregonian . The city did not immediately provide Insider with a copy of the letter in response to a public records request.
“The safety of our employees and consumers is a responsibility that Nike takes very seriously,” Nike said in a statement to Insider.
The company said it proposed a “continued and coordinated partnership with the city to better protect employees, consumers and the community” at the stores, but did not provide inside details.
The Portland Nike store closes as the big retailer is warning about the proliferation of stolen goods on online marketplaces such as Amazon, Craigslist, eBay and Facebook.
“We are seeing isolated incidents of theft on a large scale,” David Johnson, vice president of asset protection and retail operations for the National Retail Federation, told Insider. “This is a national issue. It’s not only affecting large retailers or brand-name retailers, but it’s affecting small business owners as well.”
Insider has reported on the steps big retailers are taking to address rampant shoplifting, including keeping more merchandise under lock and key.
A spokeswoman for Wheeler said the mayor’s office is working with Nike to address his concerns, which extend to the downtown Portland store that remains open.
“Addressing retail theft, vandalism and security concerns requires coordination from local retailers, police and public safety partners, and we look forward to working together to unify our public safety response,” Wheeler said in a statement. will continue.” For insiders.
In November, Portland NBC affiliate KGW said Nike stores reported 437 shoplifting cases to police since 2019, second only to Portland Target stores, which had 650.
KGW reports that Nike’s website had indicated since October that the store would be closed for “the next 7 days”. The website still lists that timeline.
Signs outside the store describe the company’s work in the surrounding neighborhood. Matthew Kish / Insider
Since opening in June 1984, the now-closed Portland store has been a point of pride for Nike, its employees and the Northeast Portland community.
Herndon, who co-chaired Portland’s Black United Front at the time, previously told the Portland Business Journal that the deal to open the store with Nike came together over a handshake. At the time, Nike was being criticized for its lack of support for the black community.
That year, Nike gave a $10,000 grant to a group in the neighborhood near the store, according to a 1984 story in The Oregonian. Nike continues to employ neighborhood staff for stores and support local organizations.
“It was part of the deal we had with them,” Herndon told Insider. “They would not only hire people from the community, but they would invest in community organizations. They stayed at that.”
While the Nike Store is at least temporarily closed, it is not abandoned.
A worker can be seen cleaning inside the shop on Monday. Merchandise resides on racks and shelves. A large pile of unopened inventory sits in boxes in the middle of the sales floor. A landscaping crew cleared the greenery in the parking lot.
“They want to keep it open,” Herndon said. “They could leave at any time. They understand the heritage of the store. They don’t want to close it.”
Source: www.bing.com
