If you haven’t visited Bridgeport Village recently, you will notice big changes the next time you go. And one of the biggest is the addition of Nike by Bridgeport Village, across from the Regal Cinemas, which is Nike’s 50th Live concept store in the U.S.
At a press briefing the day before the May 11 grand opening were Shannon Glass, vice president and general manager of North America Nike Direct, and Vanessa Garcia-Brito, vice president of North America Communication.
The central theme of the day was how Nike champions women, and Glass said, “We are so excited to be celebrating Nike by Bridgeport Village as a milestone in being Her biggest champion. We are serving Her a lifelong sport journey with premium, differentiated, and seamless experiences wherever she plays and shops sport. This concept pushes the edges of how we serve women through a curated product assortment of her running, fitness, and yoga favorites that power Her fitness journey.
“The Nike Live concept also serves as a living retail lab where we test new products and services to serve women better than ever… We’re listening to women and investing in them every step of the way, so they feel empowered no matter where they are in their sport journey, and that is a main driver for the Live concept.”
Garcia-Britto added, “We are super excited to open a store in our own backyard and serve women better than ever. Wherever you are on your journey, we want to support you.”
Nike store employees (or “store athletes” as they are called) are the heartbeat of the Nike experience, and the Nike Community Ambassador Program (NCA) empowers store athletes to volunteer as youth coaches in local schools and communities to help redefine sport for the next generation.
Despite all the emphasis placed on women, Nike continues to cater to men as well, and the Bridgeport store has men’s shoes and apparel on one side of the store, and women’s on the other. Providing a tour was Kaytlin Lam, one of 18 Nike “Ekins” (Nike spelled backward) around the U.S.
“We consider (Nike co-founder and chairman emeritus) Phil Knight the first Ekin,” Lam said. “We know the brand inside and out and work on community activation. There is one Live concept store in Eugene, and we are the first one in the Portland area.”
Nike by Bridgeport Village is located at 7293 S.W. Bridgeport Road. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 503-542-7455 or visit www.nike.com.
