NikeTown will “soon disappear” from S.F. as the “50,000-square-foot store, an anchor tenant in Union Square for the past 15 years, will be closing within the next 12 months for a complete remodeling,” according to sources cited by Andrew Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. When it reopens it “will be called NikeSF,” and sources said that the name change is “part of a nationwide rebranding exercise” by Nike. Sources also said that similar changes “are taking place at the NikeTown in Chicago, which closed for remodeling in March, and will be called Nike Chicago.” The S.F. NikeTown store opened in February ‘97 and “occupies three floors at 278 Post St. and has approximately 150 employees.” It is one of 10 NikeTowns in the U.S. Sources said that the timing of the S.F. store closing “is not publicly known, except that it will occur within the next 12 months.” The sources added that the renovation “could take six months to a year to complete” (S.F. CHRONICLE, 5/16).
BULLSEYE? DAILY FINANCE’s Barbara Thau reported Target will “make a play for fitness enthusiasts with the fall launch of an activewear store based on its C9 by Champion brand, marking the chain's first spin-off retail concept.” Target will open a C9 Active Apparel store in S.F., “dipping its discount-store toe into the booming athleticwear market occupied by expanding high-end retailers like Lululemon Athletica and Gap's Athleta chain.” The 3,000-square-foot store will open Oct. 14 “in a ground floor space in San Francisco's Metreon Shopping Center, where a 100,000 square foot CityTarget (the discounter's urban format) will also debut.” But C9 “won't bear the Target name, nor feature the iconic Bullseye logo.” Target spokesperson Jessica Deed said that there are “no plans per se to expand the C9 concept beyond that one store.” But industry analysts are “betting that if it does well, Target will do just that” (DAILYFINANCE.com, 5/12).
