the secret to success

In The Soul of the Company Store: Nike Town John Sherry depicts Nike Town as an entertainment destination that has grown into a cultural phenomenon. What makes Nike Town a spectacle in and of itself is its picture perfect integration of shopping and entertainment. NTC has successfully brought these two aspects together. The Nike Corporation has profitably branded its image and its Flagship store, in Chicago, has only highlighted itself as an innovator in the retail market. The author talks of branding as an extension of the company’s image. Whether its Nike, Harley Davidson, or Jeep these companies are popular today because they have loyal customers who support their products and buy into them because they are such status symbols within out society. Nike Town has shown us that branding as an advertising strategy is a profitable tool when it is use correctly. Nike can easily attribute its success to the quality of its products and to its successful advertising strategy. This marketing tool has added to the positive image of the brand and is why people are buying into it. Through innovative advertisement, Nike has branded an image that people want to be associated with. The integration of its products into a museum-like atmosphere is one example of how Nike has branded its image as a forward thinking company. Nike Town has pushed the limits of conventional retail architecture. In doing so they have attained the hard to capture cool factor. At the time of it’s opening, the architectural typology of Nike Town was so unusual for a retail giant. Yet, it is why it has become a successful typology among retailers today. Nike Town has made shopping fun! But it is not simply about selling their products it is more about selling their image. Like the author said himself, when looking at a Nike product in a traditional department store he will forever associate that product with the experience he had at Nike Town. The product he purchased is not what left him with a lasting impression of the brand, it was the experience associated with the product that made him a fan of the brand. Companies are reapplying some of Nike’s techniques and making it their own. Apple is one such company. Apple has recognized that image is ultimately everything and chasing cool is what attributes your success. Apples 5th avenue store in NYC is another example of this phenomenon. Because of visionaries like Nike, retailers are seeking the cool factor through the architecture of their stores. This not only benefits the retailer but is a bonus for the consumer as well.