Nike Britomart

“IF YOU HAVE A BODY, YOU’RE AN ATHLETE,” SAID CO-FOUNDER BILL BOWERMAN – A MESSAGE OF EMPOWERMENT THAT HAS HELPED TURN NIKE INTO THE WORLD’S BEST-LOVED SPORTS BRAND.

That Nike is a brand that inspires devotion is much in evidence in the new Nike Britomart concept store. In pride of place is a showcase for a selection of owner Bryan Eible’s personal Nike shoe collection, a 180-pair stash of vintage pieces and special editions the envy of ‘sneaker freakers’ everywhere.

There are tiered racks of shoes suspended chandelier-style from the ceiling and display cases made of ‘regrind’ – recycled shoes – as well as a shoe recycling bin where you can dispatch your old kicks to a new life.

The range at Nike Britomart is highly performance-focused, offering Nike’s latest and most innovative collections of footwear and clothing. While the main focus of the store is running, there’s an extensive range of training gear for gym-goers and athletes across all disciplines, as well as casual sportswear for off the field.

There’s also a great range of extras like gear bags and the Nike Plus range of run-tracking gadgetry – as well as friendly, knowledgeable staff on hand to advise and guide.

Global business, local focus

Nike might be the world’s most successful sportswear company, but the focus of the Nike Britomart store is very much on this corner of the world.

From the Auckland map graphics on the walls to the Atrium showcase tracing the birth of jogging back to New Zealand, the store emphasises its authentic connection to the New Zealand sporting community. (It’s true – Kiwi Arthur Lydiard’s jogging club so inspired Nike’s Bill Bowerman on a visit here in 1962, he took the idea with him back to the US and sparked a new fitness phenomenon.)

The Britomart store, the first in New Zealand to open under the Nike name, is the base for community fitness events including Nike+ Run Club Auckland. This social run club meets at 6pm every Wednesday evening at the store and caters for a range of distances and abilities – all welcome.