First Look: Nike Rise makes U.S. debut

Nike has brought its “digitally advanced and community connected” store concept to the mall.

The athletic apparel and footwear giant has opened the first North American location of Nike Rise, at Aventura Mall, Aventura, Fla.  The opening “signals the next stage of our retail expansion in North America as we scale across the U.S. in 2023,” Nike stated in a release.

Nike first debuted the Rise concept in 2020, at Grandview Mall in Guangzhou, China. The second location, in the South Korean capital of Seoul, opened in summer 2021, followed by one in London, which opened this past summer. Created to inspire, connect and serve athletes of all ages and genders, Nike Rise is designed to be unique to each city, with a focus on running, training and basketball.

Similar to the other locations, the newest Nike Rise has an area where shoppers can customize their sneakers and apparel (“Nike By You”) and plenty of screens displaying local sports, city and athlete data. Two-floor LED screens display real-time sports moments, seasonal brand campaigns and city-specific member data from the Nike Training Club and Nike Run Club apps, so that the community can see itself reflected in the store experience.

The store also boasts what Nike said is the “largest retail space for bras and leggings of all its stores in North America.”

Other store features are listed below:

• Sport Pulse: A new digital storytelling platform that visualizes local sport, city and athlete data to create one-of-a-kind content within the store.

• City Core Atrium: Sport Pulse comes to life here, Nike said. Two-floor LED screens display real-time sports moments, seasonal brand campaigns and city-specific member data from the Nike Training Club and Nike Run Club apps, “so that the community can see itself reflected in the store experience.”

• The Sport Hub: Described as the area where digital and physical collide to provide Nike members (membership is free) with access to convenient services that include buy-online-pickup-in-store, digital returns, curbside pickup and scan-to-learn.