The store quietly closed in fall 2022 amid a rash of brazen shoplifting incidents where crooks would walk out with armfuls of merchandise, according to local NBC affiliate KGW-TV.
The sports retail giant told Mayor Ted Wheeler in February that the closure was due to “deteriorating public safety conditions and rapid escalation in retail theft.”
Nike asked Mr. Wheeler at the time if off-duty Portland police officers could work security for the store — and Nike even offered to pay for the cops — but the mayor said the city didn’t have any officers to spare.
“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,” Nike said in a statement obtained by the KGW. “True to our roots, we will seek the input of local community organizations and leaders to determine the best new location.”
Mr. Wheeler said in a Friday statement that he was “very disappointed” in Nike’s decision, and added that the city can’t lend off-duty officers to any Portland business because of staffing shortages.
The Nike store originally opened in 1984 and eventually moved to its current location in 2000.
