As Celtic to not have their own retail presence in North America I decided to visit the most likely retail location to purchase Celtic products. I visited the huge Nike store on East 57th dubbed "Niketown". The store is massive, spread over numerous levels and covers all aspects of Nike’s product offering; general sporting good, men’s shoes, menswear, women’s shoes, womenswear and products specific to each particular sport. Niketown caters for enthusiasts of soccer, football, basketball, running, yoga and even the likes of snowboarding.
Upon entering the store I was greeted by around 3 members of staff who were having a conversation amongst themselves, they looked fairly underwhelmed to see a customer enter the largely empty store late on a midweek night. After navigating various floors I found my way to the soccer section which is marked by a famous quote from legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly (who was Scottish), it reads:
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” (Football in this instance, is of course ‘soccer’)
I promptly located Celtic jerseys hanging alongside other elite teams of world soccer, other Celtic products were available such as branded soccer balls and training gear. I am not currently in the market for a Celtic jersey, but as someone who plays the sport weekly I am in the market for a new pair of cleats with a purchasing limit of around $100. Disappointingly the depth of products available at this flagship Nike store was extremely poor with only 4 types of soccer cleats available for purchase (a quick visit to an online retailer offers 199 different Nike soccer cleats). I was eager to learn if there was more products in another part of a store but found it extremely difficult to find a member of staff to ask, after a long search the sales assistant advised that what they had on display was "everything". "Everything" in this instance is just 2% of an independent retailer's product selection in Nike's flagship store, which is in the center of New York City. If I was a Nike VP i would be concerned at this seemingly lazy approach to promoting what we have to offer in a particular product line.
As none of the products available met my fairly basic criteria I returned home without making a purchase. The Niketown store is impressive in its size and glitzy displays, but this appears to come at the expense of product selection and customer service. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of my retail visit was that no hot female members of staff winked at me; to add insult to injury, upon returning home I found absolutely no ice cream in my freezer. Maybe next time.
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