The Nike Community Store is a fixture
in Northeast Portland. The retail
giant stands tall among other
storefronts along a busy stretch of
Martin Luther King Junior Blvd.
Look inside and you'll find racks of
neatly folded Nike gear and rows of shoes.
But no customers. The Nike store has
been closed for more than a month,
and the company won't say why.
On its website, Nike said the store
will be closed for the next seven days,
a message that's been repeated for weeks.
Despite the notice posted online,
customers show up almost every day.
Usually, stores let you know what's
going on because customers want to know.
But but no. And nothing on the
door kind of leaves it suspicious,
especially when you're paying $5 for gas.
And then it's like. Thanks,
the Nike Community Store has
always had an issue with theft,
explained several people
associated with the store.
Although recently shoplifting
has risen to new levels,
criminals have become more brazen,
stealing armloads of Nike merchandise
and walking out the front door
with No Fear of being arrested.
Security guards contracted by Nike
admit they're forbidden from
physically stopping shoplifters.
It's too risky, it's obvious
that they've stolen something
and they're looking to. Unload
it somewhere. Pastor Paul Greenage of
new song Community Church has seen people
flee the nearby Nike store
with stolen shoes and clothing.
I mean, you've been here long time,
37 years, 30 some years, yeah.
Have you anything seen anything like,
like this? It's unprecedented.
Nothing like this.
KGW's analysis of Portland
crime data found since 2019,
the Nike Community Store has
reported 437 shoplifting
cases to police citywide,
that second only to the
Mall 205 target. Police,
prosecutors and retailers complain
shoplifting, or organized retail crime,
is a citywide epidemic largely
fueled by drug addiction.
Over the past four months,
several businesses have closed their doors
because of crime and security concerns,
including a cracker Barrel,
Stanford's and a couple Starbucks locations.
The Nike store is especially
noteworthy because of its history.
The credit goes to the black
community. Ron Herndon, along with
the Black United Front,
approached Nike 38 years ago
and urged the company to build
its first ever factory store on
Martin Luther King Junior Blvd,
then called Union Ave,
an area once plagued by crime and violence.
Many credit development that begin to
occur on MLK. To Nike's commitment,
when the Nike Portland factory store
opened in 1984, it pledged to donate
a portion of the stores profits
to community based nonprofits.
Those who shop here and
buy here spend money here.
We'll have a part of that profit
returned back to the community.
Since then, the Nike Stores donated
more than $1,000,000 to the north
and Northeast Portland Community.
In 2000, it moved to a new
building after outgrowing the
Nike Stores original location.
It's not just me so many people
in the community are proud of.
But the ongoing issues with theft has
raised concerns about the store's future.
What's the current with Nike is very
symptomatic of what's happening with.
People and organizations and
businesses all over Portland.
Herndon believes a lack of police resources
and prosecution has allowed criminals
to tear at the fabric of this community.
Criminals don't care.
Criminals do not care about history.
Nike built this community store
nearly 40 years ago to increase its
involvement in the community and help
build up a troubled stretch of the city.
Now, Herndon argues,
it needs support, fending
off shoplifters and crime.
Until the city comes up with an answer
to this, I don't see it going away.
I don't. I don't see this stopping.