Nike has decided to abandon reopening one of its iconic factory stores in Portland, Oregon, due to issues involving “theft and safety.”
The sports apparel giant reached out to the Soul District Business Association (SBDA) of Portland on Friday and informed them of their decision to cancel the reopening of the store they had closed last fall.
“This news has landed like a lead balloon in our district,” said John Washington, the SDBA’s executive director. “We had all been holding our breath since last November when the store quietly shuttered its doors due to internal and external theft and safety issues. But, like so many of us riding out the fallout of the pandemic and protests, we held out hope that Nike, city officials and community leaders would recalibrate and realign order. But it looks like it’s game over.”
Empty shoe boxes are left on the ground in the storage room of a sneaker store after looters vandalized several businesses overnight in the Mt Airy/Wadsworth sections of Northwest Philadelphia, PA, on June 1, 2020. (Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Nike stressed that abandoning the factory outlet restart doesn’t mean they’re abandoning Portland.
“Nike’s commitment to supporting and uplifting Portland’s North and Northeast community is unwavering.,” the company said. “We are reimagining Nike’s retail space, permanently closing our current location at 2650 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and considering future locations as part of this community’s long term revitalization plan.
“True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location. As we plan ahead, we are keeping the best interest of our employees at heart, providing them options to continue to be part of the Nike family.”
Nike didn’t decide to abandon the store without attempting to salvage the situation. The company had sought to save the store by hiring off-duty Portland Police Bureau (PPB) officers to serve as security. However, due to police defunding efforts and attrition, the PPB said they would struggle to fulfill Nike’s request.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler reacts after being exposed to tear gas fired by federal officers while attending a protest against police brutality and racial injustice in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 22, 2020 in Portland, Oregon. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
“We are aware of the letter, and I believe there will be a conversation in the future on the topic,” the PPB told KATU. “That being said, there are several large roadblocks that would have to be overcome, including the fact that with the level of staffing we have, we struggle to even fill overtime for regular shifts at the precincts,” the police department told KATU earlier this year.
“Reinstituting a program that allows for sworn PPB officers to work overtime at the request of businesses is a huge personnel lift I don’t believe we’re equipped to accommodate at the moment.”
The canceled reopening comes amid a scourge of smash-and-grab, large-scale robberies that have plagued the West Coast and Pacific Northwest. Nike has not said if it plans to close any additional stores.