Following the launch of NikeÂ’s first Rise retail concept store in Guangzhou last summer, Nike is expanding the Rise concept to Seoul. The South Korean capital is one of the worldÂ’s premier digitally-connected marketplaces, highlighting a core facet of the Nike Rise concept: the bridging of digital and physical to create immersive store experiences with an identity thatÂ’s inseparable from its host city. That immersive quality also crosses into the storeÂ’s sustainability services, which are year-round rather than temporary. The Nike Rise Seoul store casts a new vision for when the Move to Zero meets the marketplace of the future.
Adding to the in-store features from Guangzhou, Nike Seoul introduces Sport Pulse, a digital platform towering through every level of the store that uses local Nike product trends and sports updates to create an immersive retail experience. ItÂ’s a new approach for bringing the cityÂ’s unique signature for sport into the store. Another new experience in Nike Rise is Inside Track, an interactive RFID-enabled digital footwear table where shoppers can compare details such as product benefits, footwear technology and online reviews for any two shoes in the store by simply placing them on the table.
New to Rise are three experience zones in the Seoul store, each of which helps shoppers engage in a unique dimension of sport.
- The Sport Hub helps shoppers find opportunities to participate in sport in their city. The space also functions as a service desk for easy order pickups and returns.
- The City Replay zone creates a space for shoppers to find an assortment of hyperlocal Seoul products. City Replay also provides a year-round place for shoppers to repair old or worn Nike product and customize new or worn products.
- The Huddle connects shoppers to programming that focuses on NikeÂ’s five facets of fitness:Â movement, mindset, recovery, nutrition and sleep. Customers can participate in group sessions or sign up for one-on-one expert sessions tailored to their goals.
Nike Seoul also underscores Nike’s sustainability efforts. In addition to being the first Nike store to secure a LEED Gold certification, Nike Seoul is also the first in Asia to launch Recycling & Donation, Nike’s fully integrated service for recycling and donating gently worn footwear and apparel. Shoppers can drop off gently-worn shoes — and now, for the first time, apparel — to the Seoul store, where the product will either be recycled or donated to partnering organizations that help communities facing disasters and other challenging circumstances. Shoppers can bring back gently-worn footwear, athletic wear, tops and bottoms (the store will not accept apparel with metal fittings like snaps, zippers or buttons).
Nike Seoul will soon add more opportunities for shoppers to give new life to gently-used footwear, furthering the ways Nike works toward circularity within its business model.