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Thursday, April 14, 2022

Nike and Technical Innovation Center

Like the fact that logistics innovation will be included.  As we did with our innovation center. 

Nike steps up its game with a new Tech Innovation center

Apr 13, 2022  by Matthew Stern  in Retailwire

Nike is opening a new hub solely for technological innovation.

The athletic shoe brand will be opening its technology center in early 2023 in Atlanta, GA,  according to Engadget.  https://www.engadget.com/nike-technology-center-atlanta-130039247.html The location will be dedicated to improving the brand’s logistics and supply chain and reimagining the consumer experience with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. It will also focus on cybersecurity with a new “command center” for the East Coast. Until the new facility is ready, employees will work remotely.

Nike has been doing more on its own lately, which could be part of the reason it is dedicating such resources to pursuing logistics technology on the cutting edge.

The iconic brand has continued to end or alter its longstanding wholesale relationships with shoe retailers nationwide to focus on direct-to-consumer relationships. In March of 2021, the brand announced it would no longer be selling shoes through DSW, Urban Outfitters, Shoe Show, Dunham’s Sports, Olympia Sports and Big Five, and that it would be removing its branded apparel from Macy’s.

More recently, it began pulling many of its most popular SKUs from Foot Locker, which sent the retailer’s stock tumbling.

Even before doubling down on D2C, Nike was emerging as a tech-forward brand. Nike began utilizing augmented reality as part of its mobile app for reimagined shoe “drops” in 2017 and has also been integrating technology into an increasing number of its standalone stores.

The brand last month opened a 5,000 square-foot Nike Live concept store in Houston, TX, according to the Houston Chronicle. The store, like the other Nike Live locations placed in major U.S. cities since 2018, allows shoppers to interact with store staff and check on product availability through the brand’s apps.  ... '' 

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