How Nikes House of Innovation Retail Concept Puts Consumers First

Table Of Content

• EXCLUSIVE EMPLOYEE EVENTS AND PRODUCTS
• Mobile Auto Cleaning and Detailing Services
• Lifetime Shopping Discount
• Nike Is Putting Consumers First — Here’s What That Means When You Shop Its Stores
• Retail Case-study: Nike’s House of Innovation
• Don't miss tomorrow's retail industry news
• LIFECARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL SERVICE

Designed as a celebration of the sports brand’s trailblazing spirit, the store gives visitors a peek behind the curtain of how things are done and created at Nike. In addition to giving shoppers an avenue with which to create their own products, the flagship is also focused on showing customers where the brand has been. The retailer also plans to host footwear designers in the flagship to talk to customers about the shoes they've created, the designing process and what the features do for the shopper. That's not to mention a sneaker lounge on the Sneakerlab floor, which displays a series of Nike's recent sneaker releases in a mirrored room — a form of storytelling which Madden describes as an "invitation" for customers to join the sneaker community. Nike recognizes that customers are used to shopping on the internet, and it is banking on a set of in-house app capabilities to make in-person shopping a seamless, almost digital experience, rather than a hassle. Visitors add garments via QR codes to a virtual dressing room list; when they’re finished with browsing, they can head to a fitting room where their items will be waiting.

EXCLUSIVE EMPLOYEE EVENTS AND PRODUCTS

“[It’s where people] can come in, have a seat, chat with our store team, who will likely offer them a kombucha from the local coffee shop down the street that’s in a fridge right behind the bar — and provide the fastest sneaker-selling service in the country,” she said. There were installations and moments throughout the store that alluded to sneak peeks into the process of making. On L04, for example, a series of screens on tripods and tables with laptops featuring calculations and drawings hinted at some of the stories behind the creation of the LeBron shoe, but on closer inspection they were more eye candy, and less about the science behind. We can see the intention here was to share snippets of the process — but we felt more could have been revealed.

Mobile Auto Cleaning and Detailing Services

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Its pristine white inner sanctum is a nod to Nike’s “canvas,” the triple white sneaker. Such design moves recall Snarkitecture’s work for Kith (the New York sneakerhead mecca) and undoubtedly intend to capture a similar hypebeast clientele. But at the House of Innovation, Nike places its status as a footwear originator and innovator front and center, from a sculptural knitting machine (similar to the tractor beam downstairs) to the guts of a Nike Zoom Vaporfly Elite splayed out on a table. In November, Nike opened a 68,000-square-foot store devoted to it on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, calling it Nike House of Innovation 000. The flagship, the first of its kind in the United States, is not only a shrine to sportswear but an homage to Nike’s unique design process—past and future.

Lifetime Shopping Discount

This time we also had an ‘on the ground’ team of experience and spatial strategists, visiting the store on different days, to help us uncover meaningful insights. The first Nike House of Innovation 001 opened in Shanghai, followed promptly by the New York flagship 000, and with a third on its way in Paris. Across each location, Nike presents cross-category, consumer-focused spaces and experiences, and promises city-exclusive items specific to each city. For this piece, we’re zooming in on Nike’s new retail concept ‘House of Innovation’ to suss out if it’s delivering on its promises to customers, and achieving its goals as a pioneer in the retail scene. With a name like "House of Innovation" — which was already introduced through the launch of Nike's Shanghai flagship last month — it's no wonder the store is full of customization opportunities. It's also a lesson in mobile technology that actually adds utility (and convenience) for the shopper.

The House of Innovation 000 also works with the Nike App to bring you a more convenient retail experience. With NikePlus Member Unlocks, customers can request an item be brought to them for fitting. The app also features Shop The Look, which lets you scan in-store mannequins to learn more about what they're wearing, and even browse sizing. Quite possibly the best aspect of the House of Innovation and Nike App working together is Instant Checkout.

Nike Is Putting Consumers First — Here’s What That Means When You Shop Its Stores

Shots of Nike athletes and new products play on a loop from screens placed at all angles around the "beacon." But there's no music, really, nor even words — just sounds. It's jarring and distracting without the usual lull of top 40s playing in the background, but that's how it's supposed to be, according to Sean Madden, senior director of product for Nike Direct, who said it was about the "energy," "clash" and "noise" of New York City. The store, the first of its kind in Europe and the latest of only three Nike flagship experiences in the world — the others are in New York and Shanghai — spans 26,000 square feet and four floors. The Manhattan flagship, the first of its kind in the United States, is not only a shrine to sportswear but an homage to Nike’s unique design process—past and future.

Retail Case-study: Nike’s House of Innovation

If a customer uses their phone to request a certain size to try on in, say, the shoe department, an employee will bring that out to a "pick up" station on the floor, which is meant to allow shoppers to keep shopping. The retailer has set up Instant Checkout kiosks on every floor, complete with bags and a slot for hangers, to let customers check themselves out with the app if they don't feel like waiting in line. It remains to be seen whether such innovations will be picked up in retail generally (Puma, for its part, inked a deal for a flagship just two blocks away) or readily embraced by customers, but that’s not hampering Nike devotees from flooding in.

Don't miss tomorrow's retail industry news

In our last piece, we outlined a range of shifts and pulls within the retail landscape. This broad-brush portrayal of insights prompted many questions, and inspired us to delve deeper, to understand how some of these bold and leading-edge retail spaces are actually being experienced ‘live’. There's also a floor dedicated to customizable apparel, which includes not just changing the color of certain garments, but also switching out materials and even combining two different pieces of clothing into something entirely new. For a look at NYC's incredible new Nike flagship, open as of today, November 15, see the on-hand imagery. The fourth floor's Sneaker Lab alone houses the largest concentration of Nike footwear anywhere in the world, allowing you to browse through cutting-edge performance silhouettes as well as a bevy of classics. Although for right now the House of Innovation flagships are limited to just New York and Shanghai, Sparks said they plan to open one in Paris in December of 2019, and a new Nike Live store is in the works for Tokyo, though it hasn't been completed yet.

For the Nike familiarist, a speed shop filled with the brand’s top ten bestselling essentials, located on the basement floor, makes it easy to grab what you’re missing and go. Nike has unveiled its new flagship store on Manhattan’s illustrious Fifth Avenue and it’s a six-floor immersive brand temple that seeks to redefine the retail experience.Real life shopping has been given a run for its money by its digital counterpart. Spanning six floors and measuring 68,000 sq ft, the Nike House of Innovation 000 is a carefully orchestrated retail experience that will hypnotise both fans and passers-by, alike.

In addition, you can visit the Sneaker Bar and solicit the assistance of a store athlete or a digital read-out of locals-only data. Customers then have the opportunity to reserve items with just a phone call and have them held in an in-store locker for convenient pickup. "We actually talk about the House of Innovation as, really, Nike experiences for the world," Sparks said of the difference between the retailer's new flagship and its popular store in SoHo. "It's where we're going to give the deepest dive into our product innovation and the stories behind the designs and we'll be focused on large, global sports moments and how they come to life in New York City." "Part of the goal of this experience is that we're bringing our stories to life on the world's biggest stage," Cathy Sparks, global vice president and general manager of Nike Direct stores, told Retail Dive in an interview in the women's section of the store. "Doing it the way that retail's always operated by bringing the best product, the best experiences to life, but what we've added to this location is the really strong integration of digital and physical and allowing them to take their shopping experience into their own hands."

All-in-all, the mobile features are focused on easing the customer's path to purchase. And it also comes into play for customers who saw something online but want to check it out in store before they buy. For those shoppers, the app allows them to pick up reserved items in a set of lockers by scanning their member pass. "Nike Arena," the floor most customers enter on, doesn't actually have any product on it. There's a large customization area where consumers can make changes to a pair of shoes they liked — change the color of the laces, of a Swoosh, of the whole shoe — and some other artistic elements, like the aforementioned "beacon," but the majority of the product is still to come. The fourth floor marks a dramatic shift in the store’s design language and hosts what to many will be the main attraction—the Nike Sneaker Lab, home to the largest collection of the brand’s footwear in the world.

The designers wanted to convey a sense of movement across the building, so they turned to slumping, a technique for bending red-hot glass beneath its own weight to lend strength and beauty. Each glass panel ripples with uniform etched waves angled at 23.5 degrees—the precise angle of Nike’s iconic Swoosh. It’s the sort of building Mies would have created had he gotten hold of a pair of Air Force 1s. This new mark in the retail landscape is undoubtedly the ultimate opportunity for Nike to get ahead by being heavily purpose-led, rather than being just another shop stacked with stuff. By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.

Nike's new Expert Studio is located on the top level, as NikePlus Members can pair up with a Nike Expert to find the right item for any given use and then customize the product. Our designs to mitigate Covid-19 are as intentional and seamless as the designs in store. The executive, who boasts a 22-year career with the Beaverton, Ore.-based company, shed more light on the store concept at WWD’s Retail 2030 forum on Wednesday. The unique elements of the store were mostly on the top and bottom floors, but with mixed success.

In both concepts, convenience and customization seem to be top priorities for the iconic sports brand, but collecting customer data is high on the list. And the members-based mobile app, which features so heavily throughout the store, is the retailer's best way of doing that. Despite being sprawled over 6 floors, and designed to offer varied services within compartmentalised environments, HOI impressively does feel like one cohesive and connected place.

There's a customization lab on one side just past the entrance and a massive structure (what Nike executives are calling a "beacon") stretching up through the entryway to the five floors above it. From customizable sneakers and apparel to a localized Speedshop for New York customers, the flagship does just about everything — including mobile. Just beyond, at the back of the space, a glowing counter is set against a video backdrop.