The city of Memphis is known for the authentic blues, great barbecue … and basketball shoes?
Nike — the Portland, Oregon, based maker of sports footwear — recently expanded its distribution center in Memphis to a sprawling 2.8 million square feet, making it the biggest Nike DC on the planet.
The interior of the updated facility is the equivalent of 49 football fields. It now features 33 miles of conveyor belts, 73 outbound doors, and 96 receiving spurs.
The facility operators 24 hours per day handling and distributing Air Jordans and other popular Nike brand athletic gear. There is a two-mile perimeter around the building.
Nike History Noted
Throughout the distribution center are references to Nike’s history as one of the leading athletic shoe makers in the industry, including one of the first Volkswagen buses used to make deliveries throughout Portland when company was first founded in 1964. Through the back windows of the van, you can see stacks of Nike shoeboxes that feature the company’s trademark swoosh.
The display apparently references when Nike co-founder Phil Knight famously sold his shoes out of the trunk of his 1964 Plymouth Valiant during the company’s early years.
Another display in the facility’s cafeteria features the words “Bo Know” in lights, a tribute to the popular 1980s ad campaign that featured Heisman Trophy winner and Chicago White Sox slugger Bo Jackson.
Long History in Memphis
The new facility has been renamed the North American Logistics Center-Memphis and is the latest in Nike’s long association with Memphis, where it opened its first DC in 1982.
In 1994, the company brought Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan to the city to dedicate a playground built located in a public housing project. The playground was built using 25,000 recycled Nike shoes, including 800 donated by Nike workers.
Nike CEO Eric Sprunk said the newly expanded facility will make it easier for the company to service customers throughout the US and beyond.
“We built NALC-Memphis to enhance our ability to provide our consumers what they want — premium Nike products delivered quickly and efficiently,” Sprunk said in a Nike news release announcing the opening of the expanded facility.
“When we deliver like this for our customers, we grow and expand our business,” Sprunk said. Through successful partnerships with state and local government, we’ve built a premier logistics center that meets the increasing demands of our consumers and our wholesale customers, while also ensuring that the facility meets our high standards for sustainability.”
The building was constructed according to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification guidelines.
Economic Boost
The distribution center, which is located in one of the poorest and most blighted areas of Memphis, is reportedly having a huge positive impact on the city’s economy. Approximately 1,850 workers are employed at the facility.
But the economic benefit doesn’t come without a cost to the city of Memphis. Nike secured a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement from the board of Memphis and the Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine that amounted to a $57.8 million tax break. The shoe company also got a 13-year PILOT from the local government in 2007 for the original 1.1 million DC, which saved Nike $21 million in local property taxes.