Nike unveils its first flagship Rise store in Chennai

American athletic footwear and apparel brand Nike has launched its first digitally-advanced flagship Nike Rise concept store at Phoenix Marketcity in Chennai, according to a social media post by an official from Phoenix Marketcity.

“Nike opens their flagship Rise Store, a first-of-its-kind in the state at Phoenix Marketcity, Chennai. This will be the first and only exclusive store with Air Jordan collection in the state,” said manager, leasing at The Phoenix Mills Ltd.

Nike Rise stores offer online-to-offline (O2O) services such as digital returns, curbside pickup, scan to learn, buy online pickup in-store, and SNKRS pass, which is an exclusive Nike Member Reward found in the SNKRS App.

The athletic retailer debuted the concept of Nike Rise with a 15,000 sq. ft. store in Guangzhou, China in July 2020 and its second Rise store in Seoul featured tech touches such as QR codes that unlocked augmented reality experiences, and a content studio.

In 2022, the footwear giant opened its first Nike Rise store in India at DLF Mall of India, Noida.

“This is the journey of retail transformation and the store features the latest retail and architectural design used in new Nike stores around the world. Experience the best of Nike with an integration of digital and physical space for a fully immersive and seamless member journey,” said Saahil Iyer, Director, Nike India.

US-based Nike, Inc. was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman, a track-and-field coach at the University of Oregon, and his former student Phil Knight. The company opened its first retail outlet in 1966. In 1972, Nike launched its own brand of shoes, and in 1978, the company was renamed Nike, Inc.

In 1995, Nike entered the Indian market through a licensing deal with Delhi-based Sierra Industrial Enterprises and in 2004 Nike India, a subsidiary of Nike, Inc. was set up. The brand currently operates over 1046 retail stores worldwide with over 125 stores in India.