NIKEgoddess Bows at the Grove
It was a sports fan feast at the March 15 opening of the newest NIKEgoddess store at Los Angeles’ newest shopping center, the Grove. There to please guests of the private party with autographs and photos were athletes including tennis champion Lindsay Davenport and Olympic champions Tristan Gale, the skeleton gold medallist, and A.J. Mleczko, U.S.A. hockey team member and silver medallist. Many of the athletes were also on hand over the weekend to act as Nike sales associates.
It’s all about the women at NIKEgoddess, a departure from Nike Inc.’s more masculine Niketown stores. The 6,000-square-foot Grove location carries seasonal apparel and gear on the first floor, including yoga, fitness, tennis, and running categories, and stocks shoes on the second floor. New to the apparel lineup is sun-protective clothing, and maternity fashions will bow in April.
The look of the store is the same as that of the first NIKEgoddess store, which opened at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Calif., last October, with a mid-century-modern aesthetic and a mosaic tile entryway that ends in an arch.
Now that Nike executives have cut their teeth at the first location, they’ve learned what customers like. Part of that knowledge comes from the feedback loop they encourage by training sales reps to ask for comments regarding product performance and comfort. “Revenue was greater than planned so we were in catch-up mode,” said Lisa Clausen, general manager of Nike’s U.S. marketplace, describing the sell-through on some items at the Fashion Island store. “We’ve got more depth of coveted, key items here, especially tech-driven pieces.”
Clausen said the Beaverton, Ore.-based company is still keeping the wraps on plans for future NIKEgoddess stores.
Recovering from knee surgery, Davenport was slowly making the rounds and observing the clothing, which she believes can fit any body, including her 6-foot-2 1/2-inch frame. “Everything is fitted and cute,” she said. “Nike has really made sports clothing fashionable.” —Nola Sarkisian-Miller
