Edgar Alvarez Barajas

Style

This is how Nike took over Super Bowl LVI

The brand's love for Los Angeles dates back to 1967, when it was known as Blue Ribbon Sports and opened its first store there.

Nike Super Bowl LVI Los Angeles
Nike

While the NFL’s Super Bowl LVI is behind us now, Nike’s presence in Los Angeles will be felt far beyond that. The Swoosh has been heavily investing in community-driven stores, where people can do more than just shop — like bring kids to stay active with help from professional trainers.

Nike

These community stores are in areas with large Latino and Black populations, and Nike is using them to make its retail setting feel akin to a family — where everyone knows each other and find way to connect through sport.

Nike Watts in Los Angeles.
The murals outside Nike Watts feature members of the local community.

In addition to Watts, the Swoosh has stores like Nike By Glendale in metro LA, one that focuses on more personalized experiences and highlights its digital-meets-physical efforts. That includes buying items on its app and then picking them up in store.

Nike

Beyond the app’s connection to the store, though, Nike By Glendale also focuses on adopting a similar sense of community as Watts. So people who come to this retail experience can be part of run clubs, as well as other activities Nike may be putting on. It’s all a part of the brand wanting to keep people moving.

Nike
Nike is proof that brick-and-mortar retail spaces can co-exist with the digital world.
Personal, 1-on-1 experiences are key at Nike By Glendale.

Of course, because this is Nike after all, the company has to have a store in LA that caters not just to locals but also tourists. And that’s Nike at The Grove.

Nike

With the Super Bowl festivities, shoppers could visit the brand’s store at The Grove to customize NFL jerseys as part of Nike By You. The company also uses flagships stores like this to create different themed experiences, like let people play Madden on a big screen while they shop.

Nike

For the sneakerheads, meanwhile, Nike touts its partnerships with LA-born brands like Undefeated — which not only collaborate with the brand on hyped collabs, but also carry plenty of Swoosh product for shoppers in Los Angeles.

Nike
Undefeated co-founder James Bond talked about Nike’s influence on streetwear and sneaker culture, and how the brand has embraced local LA labels for decades.

Now that Super Bowl LVI is over, the link to LA doesn’t stop here for Nike. The company just revealed a new, state-of-the-art HQ in the city where its staff will work once they can go back to the office.

Edgar Alvarez Barajas / Input
A view from Nike’s Los Angeles HQ.
Inside Nike’s LA HQ there are themes featuring athletes with ties to the city, like Bo Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Serena Williams, Paul Rodriguez, and others.

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