JD Sports Still ‘Bullish’ on Nike as It Helps Launch the Air Max Dn8 Sneakers in NYC
Stephen Garner
Senior Editor
JD Sports is doubling down on its partnership with Nike with its latest in-store activation.
On Thursday, the UK-based retailer hosted an exclusive retail experience at its New York City flagship store in Times Square to mark the launch of Nike’s Air Max Dn8 sneaker, which launched earlier this week with a global campaign dubbed “Maxxed Out.”
As part of the initial launch on Thursday, JD Sports was the only wholesale partner to host a Nike Dn8 Maxxed Out retail experience, with other elevated experiences available only at select Nike Direct locations. JD will also be launching an exclusive color of the Dn8 in April, the company added.
The experience included four mechanical “experiments” to life in the flagship’s main window, aimed at inviting customers into a Dn8 shop-in-shop at the center of the store. Visual nods to the Dn8 and Air Max concepts in the activation area featured flight cages, footwear pedestals, mannequins styled head-to-toe and interactive experiment that inflated an airbag around the shoe.
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What’s more, JD also developed new motion graphics unique to the Times Square location, using digital screens to further enhance the Dn8 environment. As consumers moved to the second floor, they encountered Dn8 tickers and entered another elevated zone designed to inspire complete head-to-toe shopping experiences with additional mannequin styling and an elevated footwear presentation.
John Hall, president and managing director for JD North America, told FN in an interview that the event on Thursday was a “true collaboration” in every sense as JD and Nike worked together to bring the installation to life.
“We really work with them closely on building out a new and exciting execution for their new franchise,” Hall said. “Our store looked amazing, and our sales from the event supported it.”
In terms of JD Sports’ future relation with Nike, Hall said it’s “strong” and that the retailer is “fairly bullish” on the athletic brand. “We like to partner with Nike early on and often,” Hall noted. “They are creating fully immersive go-to-market experiences that help the product come to life better than anyone else. And we think we can execute these concepts well. We are fairly bullish on Nike, and we think that the new leadership team is focused and very purposeful around innovation and really hitting it out of the park. So, we’re pretty excited about that.”
Jason Kirrer, vice president of North American sales and marketplace at Nike, added that the experience at JD’s flagship store in Times Square is a “manifestation of our shared efforts” to create unique and immersive retail experiences. “Together, we continue to push boundaries, delivering products and experiences that take customers to new places,” Kirrer said.
