The first Nike store was re-opened in Russia under the banner “NSP” (Nike Sport Point) in the Belaya Dacha Outlet Village in Moscow. The store manager, Diana Tesnitskaya, told the news agency Ruptly that the store opened on the premises of the former one. “The goods are all the same, authentic, familiar to customers from before the official closure of the Nike store – everything is kept as before,” she added.
On June 23, Nike announced its decision to pull out from Russia in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Following the move, the Cheryomushkinsky Court of Moscow initiated legal proceedings against the company, alleging that Nike was not fulfilling ”its obligations towards consumers to replace flawed products or eliminate defects free of charge.”
During a court hearing, a spokesperson for Nike said that the company had not stopped operating in the country, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported. Oleg Pavlov, head of the Russian consumer organization Public Consumer Initiative commented that the U.S. brand had, in fact, decided to stay in Russia. “Publicly, they say that the company left Russia, but the actual actions indicate the opposite: Nike continues to be present on the Russian market and operate within the framework of Russian legislation,” Pavlov said.
However, Nike’s retail network in Russia has reportedly been sold to its local partner, Sport Point. The terms of the deal remain unknown.
