Nike abruptly closes over a dozen neighborhood concept stores across US

Nike has closed over a dozen of its small, neighborhood-focused stores across the country.

The athletic giant initially launched Nike Live, its concept of a neighborhood store, in Los Angeles in 2018. The original store in Melrose used digital data from customers who live in the area to stock products based on what neighborhood shoppers wanted.

The stores also worked with Nike’s app and membership program to let customers reserve products to try in-store and pick-up purchases.

The LA location and at least 14 others have since permanently closed including in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina and Texas, Retail Dive reported Wednesday.

“Like all retailers, we regularly evaluate our fleet and make adjustments across our marketplace to better align to our strategy for growth, including elevating stores and streamlining our physical retail footprint,” a Nike spokesperson told Retail Dive in a statement. “This is part of our work to create Nike’s future marketplace.”

The Independent has contacted Nike for comment.

Nike once had big plans for the stores. In 2020, after testing the Nike Live concept, the company said it could open as many as 200 locations across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The Live locations were rebranded as Nike Well Collective stores in 2023, expanding the concept to include wellness and fitness.

Nike did not say whether it plans to continue the neighborhood-store concept or if the reported closures represent the full extent of the shutdowns, Retail Dive reported

On a summer earnings call, Nike CEO Elliott Hill said the company is making changes to its Nike Direct business, including improving the in-store experience and relying less on online discounts.

“We’ve elevated more than 150 stores with sport-led experiences,” Hill said, according to Retail Dive. “Over time, we will continue to rezone and elevate our fleet and close the doors that are no longer aligned to our strategy.”

Nike Live stores were originally part of the company’s direct-to-consumer strategy. The approach worked for a while, but its momentum faded under former CEO John Donahoe, according to Retail Dive.

Now, under Hill, Nike is changing course. The company is focusing more on wholesale partners and rebuilding relationships with retailers, even as it closes some of its smaller Nike Live locations, the outlet noted.

Still, Nike is not giving up on the idea of community-focused retail altogether. The company recently teamed up with Foot Locker to open Crenshaw Rec by Foot Locker in LA, a neighborhood store designed to feel more like a community recreation center. It features a local-focused product selection, gym, equipment room, creative workspaces and a resource center with community programming, Retail Dive reports.