Nike Company Store — Local services in Beaverton

Being a gigantic Nike fan since forever, it has been a dream of mine to come to the Nike Company Store in Portland. I'm from Seattle, so it isn't like I can come here often either. I feel like if you are able to come to this store, and you are not from Portland, then coming here is basically a huge part of the "Portland Experience," atleast that's what it feels like to me.

I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I walk into a Nike store there is always that distinct smell, like fresh sneakers, and new clothes, and I love it, and it just got me pumped up when I first walked through those doors. I really didn't know where to start in the store, it was just do big, and I really felt the definition of being a kid in a candy store.

I want to say I spent the longest time in the shoe section, just going back and forth admiring everything. The one thing that got me insanely excited was seeing the Nike Adapts ~ the auto-lacing ones that have the same colorway as the Nike Mags. I really couldn't believe I was looking at them, not only that, but I was able to hold them in my hands. On top of that, I even got to try them on. They are listed as basketball shoes but you're crazy if you are hoopin' in them, atleast I wouldn't ever hoop in them. They were actually insanely comfy, and the auto-lacing tech was just so mindblowing. The only thing that kind of kept me from getting them was the fact you had to charge them, and that's just really akward, and who knows how well they would do in water (if it all of a sudden rained like crazy not that I would wear them with rain im the forecast). Also, the price is kind of crazy starting at $350, but the 40% discount we got which is insanely generous got it down to $210 which is almost the retail price for Jordan 1's... almost. But yeah, the adapts are probably the dopest shoe I've held in my hands so far in my life.

There were still so many shoes that were amazing, and being the sneakerhead I am, it was just such an experience being in that store looking at the shoe selections. It will be kind of hard to get used to Nike Clearance Stores after coming here. I just think it's really cool how they had shoes I was considering going for on the Nike SNKRS app, but didn't because they were too expensive.

I did end up getting the Vapormax 2020 Flyknit "Summit White," which did release on SNKRS app. They were originally $220 but the discounts got it down to $132 which is insane for a clean sneaker like those, and they are really comfy, light weight and the lacing technology on them are really unique. For real, one reason Nike is my favorite is because they are so innovative but still very stylish. I also got a bunch of clothes, and my family also got shoes and clothes, but the only reason we got so much was because iof the insane discounts. I'm still in awe in how good the discounts were.

I actually look foward to going to Portland now, just because of this Nike store, and it really made a dream I forgot I had come true, and I could spend several more hours in that store just looking around. I can't stop talking about how cool of an experience it was...

Overall this was a disappointing experience and overrated.

First off, there was a relatively long line to enter stuffed with huge groups of people. I guess Nike employees can bring unlimited guests or something, otherwise family’s made up of 4-6 middle age adults and 14 children are normal in that area. They should have a separate line for individuals and couples to smooth entry.

Inside, was even more a mess. It’s like a free for all madhouse daycare, filled with unsupervised children pushing carts without looking. There were also roving groups of student athletes blocking aisles and standing around the exit area. Then you had clueless adults just standing around blocking displays and not looking for their kids.

The place gets one extra star because generally employees seemed friendly including the check in and check out team. One exception for the guy and gal working the Men’s Jordan shoe area yesterday night, who seemed annoyed I asked them about a shoe— perhaps I was interrupting their work time date or something.

One more gripe was lack of selection, sure there are stacks and stacks of shoes- but none of them were the high end models. They were mostly old shoes and it was impossible to find anything specific (aforementioned work time couple was not only issue). The discount shoes were constantly blocked by the students and kids, so couldn’t even take a look. Jersey selection was just a small rack, with either Kobe jerseys or random baseball ones. The workout gear was not organized in a manageable way to find what you wanted— like the yoga pants were next to the basketballs which were next to the socks that were across the store from the workout gear. Also there were three sets of yoga pants areas across the store nowhere near each other, so didn’t know which was which.

Pricing seems ok, especially with discount but lack of selection makes it worse than it appears. Anyways, just ended up getting a few things that were probably an overpay.

Although the checkout team was efficient, the check out line was lined with solo children holding shopping carts for their “parents” and the exit was blocked by the student athlete brigade. Overall a disappointing end to a disappointing store.

One last tip- there is a gigantic pothole on the path in from the Crossings mall area, almost blew out my tire and the road is so narrow it’s impossible to avoid. Guess I should have taken that as an omen and...

Discriminatory Policy : Read the Small Print on the Invite!

I was eager to treat my 3 year old and 70 year old mom to a pile of new Nike's. Would have been my kid's first pair and mom got hooked after I convinced her to try on some of my Flyknits. Excitement died at the door, however.

The store requires an invite to enter but imposes an unusually restrictive +1 policy. They allow 2 adults per household BUT ONLY if they are involved in an intimate relationship... Simply put, grandma was not allowed and would have had to sit in the hot car alone while we shop or I'd have to get a second pass just for her and trek back another day. (Yup, no waiting room either)

Surely, I thought, the store manager would agree this made no sense. I mean what is the difference to Nike if I bring my mom who lives with me or my lover? Instead I was told "This has been our policy for a long time and it would not be fair to others if we made an exception. We are happy to reword the language on our confirmation email to make it clearer."

HOLD ON. If you really wanted to make it fair for everyone either 1) do not allow anyone to bring a +1 or 2) allow grownups in the same household to enter no matter if they are sleeping together or not!! LOL

Why "reword language" instead of actually reevaluating a policy that's clearly discriminatory? What about single people's households? Seniors, parents and children with live-in caregivers? Why disadvantage people and put them in embarrassing and awkward situations of having to explain themselves and the nature of their relationships to a store clerk?!

There are so many great athletic brands out there. I've shopped Nike exclusively for over 20 years but it's time...