An opening date has finally been announced for the much-anticipated new Nike store in Manchester city centre.
We revealed earlier this year how the global sportswear brand revealed plans to move into the former Topshop unit inside Manchester Arndale.
Set across two floors, Nike’s first store in Manchester will fill the last remaining space in the former Topshop unit and will be home to its digitally focused Nike Rise concept.
The company's plans appear to have take more time than expected, but it's now announced that it will open on Tuesday, November 28.
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The 'digitally-focused' store will be designed 'to empower athletes to make sport a daily habit' and will include screens that display real-time running stats from the local community and interactive tables where you can place two different shoes and get information about them before you make your purchase.
It's good news for people planning to do their Christmas shopping in the centre, which is also home to the new Sports Direct store, which opened in March and is spread across five floors.
It is the company’s third UK ‘flagship store’, after openings in London and Birmingham. Dedicated areas have been set out for football, running - as well as specialist sports, plus menswear, womenswear, and kidswear. High street brand Game is included and there's a Belong gaming arena where people can take a break from shopping and enjoy a gaming session costing £5 an hour.
Nike confirmed the opening of its 13,000 sq ft to customers in an email earlier this week.
It said: "We are taking a bit more time to finish our new Nike Manchester store. The opening date is November 28."
Steve Gray, head of European retail asset management at Global Mutual, said: "It is testament to the popularity of Manchester Arndale that Nike has selected the centre for its first Rise store in Manchester. The city is home to two of the world’s most famous sports teams and Nike’s arrival will be a great attraction for sport lovers across Manchester and the North West.
"The letting to Nike also means that the entire space vacated by Topshop has now been filled, following the lettings to Clarks and Gilly Hicks last year. This justifies the Manchester Arndale team’s decision to split the space and create three new high-quality units in a prime location. These three arrivals to this space also demonstrate the confidence popular retail brands have in Manchester Arndale and how it continues to attract shoppers from the North West and beyond."
M&G Real Estate and Global Mutual act as joint asset managers of Manchester Arndale while Metis Real Estate and Time Retail Partners are the centre’s retained letting agents.
