As the Nike HOI NYC/000 was nearing completion, an opportunity presented itself to create a central art piece for the 3-story atrium that would be viewable by customers from multiple perspectives as they navigated throughout the store. While the footprint was established, the design was still an unknown. It was clear from the beginning that whatever was to be installed would originate internally Nike Design as this store represented not only the next phase of retail design but the potential for retail experience and consumer engagement with the brand. Opening such a large platform of retail within the most iconic city in the world required something that would be disruptive to the retail standard, hold its own as a storytelling element, and leave customers with a unique experience they could only receive at this state-of-the-art store.

No city clashes harder than NYC. And no one knows how to transform dissonance into design quite like Nike. Clashing athletes with artists, sounds with screens, sports with technology, and communication with creativity, the Nike NYC Sport Beacon is the world’s loudest city personified. The goal of the design was to weave together iconic elements of audio and visual communication from the New York skyline and sport arenas. We merged these ideas into a structure which would be as engaging up close to customers as it was iconic at first glance. Benefitting from its placement as the store centerpiece – it worked as a broadcast engine for digital and audio content to create an ever-changing sensory experience and allowed for deeper story-telling and engagement by customers from nearly every point it the store. It was designed to be equally disruptive on 5th Avenue as it visually cut through the glass

Nike HOI, central to Shanghai with maximum exposure, invited locals and visitors to be a part of it, and spoke equally to both customer audiences with a strong global-to-local voice. Nike HOI is also designed to enable ultimate flexibility for regular programming and activations to satisfy today’s digital-first customer, who moves faster and demands more from store experiences in the age of social media and online retail. The entire Nike Air journey responded to this with every element designed for sharing opportunities.

The Nike Air campaign launch was the quintessential example of a takeover that reimagines customer experiences and delivered on immersive storytelling in a way only Nike can. While a centralized trial experience began the journey, the customer experience was augmented with supporting storytelling layers, allowing for the Nike Air campaign to be molded in numerous ways to resonate with every customer type and serve a complete story.

Built like a soundstage and activated like a runway, HOI’s spaces can shift at a moment’s notice keeping storytelling experiences fresh and exciting.

The SH/001 atrium featured the largest sport trial experience globally. Spanning 20m2 feet over 3 floors and made up of 120m2 of LED screens with pressure sensing flooring, the central piece accommodated more than 100 trials per day.

Inspired by the Air Max 720’s airbag, the tallest air unit to date, the store invited customers to “Just Go Bigger” with larger-than-life installations: sculptural airbags illustrating the innovation’s lightweight nature, Air Testing Machines demonstrating cushioning benefits and artful exhibits of authentic Air Max footwear prototypes straight from Nike World Headquarters.

The Air experience culminated with a co-creation Nike Air x Lego activation and Nike By You marble-dyeing customization service for sneaker-obsessed customers. Appointments could be booked through a consumer’s mobile device for a more seamless and friction-free experience.

The first openings of a new generation of Nike retail experiences exceeded even our own expectations. Traffic has been 400% above target – proof that experiential retail drives traffic and engagement. Hundreds of thousands of customers in New York and Shanghai have visited in the first quarter since opening.