Retailers were buzzing about Nike Town taking over the the vacant Saks Fifth Avenue store on Michigan Avenue, and so was the design world.
Billed as ”retail theater,” Nike Town will combine fitness, entertainment and design. Each sport`s collection will have its own
”pavilion.” For example, the Air Jordan pavilion will feature Michael`s footwear from his rookie season to the present, against the sound of shoes squeaking on a wooden floor. John McEnroe`s territory will include tennis memorabilia (such as broken rackets).
The company`s flagship store opened in Portland last year and promptly won Interiors magazine`s Corporate America Design Award, the design world`s highest honor. Design director Gordon Thompson III (who calls the store ”a combination of ”F.A.O. Schwarz, Disneyland and Smithsonian”) will accept the award here Thursday at NEOCON, the annual office and commercial furniture show.
One Nike executive said Chicago was selected because ”we belong in a town that is not only home to Michael Jordan, but now to Bo Jackson as well.”
