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| Nike opens premiere flagship store in Tokyo | | November 17, 2009 (Japan) |  |
 NIKE Inc announced the opening of the Nike Flagship Store Harajuku, its largest store in Japan and the first flagship store in Tokyo. Located in the Harajuku section of Tokyo, an influential epicenter where style and culture blend, the Nike Flagship Store Harajuku will expand beyond innovative product offerings. The store is rooted in sport and will promote athletes and products with new and interactive experiences.
To commemorate the store unveiling, Nike has partnered with 11 renowned athletes to collaborate for a special collection of footwear and apparel. The athletes featured in this collection include Nobuharu Asahara, Miho Brown, Yu Darvish, Rie Hasegawa, Takehiko Inoue, Shoji Jo, Kumiko Kaneda, Yuta Tabuse, Dai Tamesue, Marcus Turio Tanaka and Misako Yasuda.
“The addition of the Nike Flagship Store Harajuku will help drive energy in Tokyo while expanding Nike’s footprint in the community,” said Jim Godbout, Vice President and General Manager of Nike Japan. “We are bringing a unique and innovative approach to Tokyo’s retail scene – in the heart of Harajuku.”
In addition to the largest and most diverse lineup of products among Nike stores in Japan, the Nike Flagship Store Harajuku offers expansive, sport-specific areas on each floor. The first-floor Runner’s Studio will offer gait analysis, which technically analyzes running strides. The second floor will feature Japan’s largest NIKEiD Studio, an interactive space in which consumers can personally design original footwear and apparel for their specific performance and style needs.
The Nike Flagship Store Harajuku will join Niketown London as the only two Nike stores in the world to feature a specialty area for football gear. The Nike Bootroom, located on the third floor, will provide a diverse range of one-of-a-kind football services. Specialized employees called concierges will be available in the Bootroom, and each area within the store, to help consumers select the most appropriate products with well-informed insight.
The store is focused on providing the community with programming that will meet their product needs while advancing their training regimen. For example, the Nike Running Club will be held four times a week to provide runners with unique running programs, tips and tricks.
The interior design of the outlet is created through collaboration with internationally renowned designer Masamichi Katayama, of design firm Wonderwall, who has produced a unique look befitting the status of the flagship store as an innovative center of sports and style. From the chandeliers designed with 400 pairs of shoes to the walls made using the soles of 1,600 pairs of shoes, the ambience of the Nike Flagship Store Harajuku blends enthusiasm for the innovative products developed by Nike with the free-minded imagination and sensitivity of Masamichi Katayama.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Nike for this unique store opening in Tokyo,” said Masamichi Katayama. “Playground is the design concept, as I wanted to make a place where everyone would feel comfortable experiencing the essence of sports.”
Founded in 2000 by Masamichi Katayama, the interior design firm Wonderwall is best known for retail design. The firm’s work elicits an uninhibited sense of energy towards design even in Japan, where architecture and interior design is known for being one of the most exhilarating in the world. Katayama's interest in design has always been broad, respecting conventional and traditional aspects of architecture, while breaking traditional boundaries. | | | | NIKE Inc | |
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