Nike is leaving its iconic Niketown property — and the fact that Trump owns it is reportedly a factor
Nike announced it is building a new flagship store in New York’s famed 5th Ave shopping district
By Dennis Green
Niketown New York is packing it in.
Nike announced the five-floor store is closing next spring in preparation for Nike’s new store, just five blocks down 5th Ave, in 2019.
Niketown was opened as a virtual Willy Wonka of shoes, with pneumatic tubes shooting product all over the store. It’s also the Trump Organisation’s biggest tenant in a single space, with Nike leasing the 65,000 square feet of space. Forbes estimates that the propriety is worth US$235 million.
Trump also owns the Trump Tower, which is around the block with high-profile tenants like Tiffany and Gucci.
Nike’s move is likely predominately motivated by a change in its strategy, which is now focused on more experimental and modern conveniences that the ageing store could provide. While there are a lot of floors and square footage, the floors are set up in such a way that it would be difficult to reconfigure.