Shut at Britomart, opening on Queen St: Global retail giant returning to Auckland's heart

Bryan Eible franchise owner of the Nike Britomart store was the first person to open the store and had been the owner for the last 10 years. Video / Big Bright Media Ltd

A global retailer is opening in Auckland CBD heritage premises getting a $15 million strengthening and upgrade. The chain is also unveiling a new "live" concept that has led to a big sales uplift overseas.

Sam Winstone-Kight, portfolio manager for locally owned Morton Properties, said sporting goods made by the American multinational corporation would sell from the historic HB Central, 222-228 Queen St from this year.

Nike goods were sold from a store in the Atrium on Takutai in the Britomart for a decade, but that closed in January when its franchise owner expressed sadness that arrangements had ended.

But now Nike has struck a new deal and customers will soon be able to buy the label again further up Queen St from a building more than a century old, owned by a family business that is spending millions strengthening and doing up the structure.

Winstone-Kight said Morton was doing a $15m renovation and seismic strengthening of 110-year-old HB Central.

The new store is one building away from the Queen St/Victoria St intersection, opposite the twin-tower ANZ centre.

Nike is also sold from dedicated stores in Onehunga's Dress-Smart, Westfield St Lukes, Kiwi Property's Sylvia Park, Westfield Newmarket and Botany but has never traded from Queen St before.

HB Building, Queen St, where the retailer will trade from. Photo / supplied

Winstone-Kight said Nike had leased its entire ground floor and planned to open once construction work was done.

That building is the original home of the Hallenstein Brothers and connects to a 140-year-old building also owned by Morton behind it at 3 Lorne St, he said.

In January, the Herald reported Bryan Eible, Nike Britomart franchise owner, saying January 31 would be the last day the business traded in the CBD because of the end of a 10-year lease with the brand.

Nike goods were half-priced until it closed on January 31.

Morton Property plans for the heritage HB Building, 222-228 Queen Street. Photo / supplied

Nike says it is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, with revenue in excess of US$37.4 billion ($60b) in its fiscal year 2020.

Winstone-Kight said Nike the live store format will be the first of its kind in the Pacific, because Nike had not yet brought the concept to Australia.

Nike live has been reported in the United States as being "the secret to retail success", making every customer feel like a VIP, encouraging more QR code scanning, giving hand-written notes to customers and resulting in brand membership conversions six times higher than elsewhere.

Nike opened its first live concept store in Los Angeles around 2018. Other stores then brought in the experience in California's Long Beach and Tokyo's Shibuya, overseas media reported.

Burger King traded from what will be the new Nike store for 25 years but Sketchers and StarMart have also been tenants in the premises.

Morton Property bought the building in 1996.

Trevor Stitt, group marketing manager at Australia's Retail Prodigy Group, which is Nike's retail franchise for Australia and New Zealand, said a new era of the brand was about to arrive here with the live concept.

Winstone-Kight said customers would benefit from Queen St's pedestrian upgrades and the new shop's proximity to the City Rail Link's Aotea Station, due to open around 2024.

Nike will open its new live concept when it begins trading from Queen St. Photo / supplied

The upgrade and strengthening is being done by commercial construction business LT McGuinness, also working on Precinct Properties' 1 Queen St upgrade and refurbishment.

HB Central will have a roof terrace, street cafe and offices above two levels of retail.

Michael Mason, a principal of Warren and Mahoney Architects, said the building would be repurposed to celebrate its heritage and character.

"Through layering of contemporary materials, systems and fittings over exposed heritage structures, workspaces will be reinvigorated as modern and flexible," Mason predicted.

Nathan Male of Metro Commercial which leased the Queen St shop to Nike. Photo / supplied

Metro Commercial's Male said the building had 2000sq m of character office space on five levels above the retail area.

An office refurbishment would bring new life to that mid-town area because many people would soon be working from those offices, he said.

Metro Commercial leased the Nike space but is also leasing the commercial space and the upper floor offices will be accessed off Lorne St via a character cafe, Male said.

"The hospitality space oozes character and Morton Property is keen to emphasise the raw elements of the historic Lorne St building. We are in negotiation with hospitality operators to set the scene for what will be the entrance to the boutique office space. There is a real shortage of good coffee and food outlets in the mid-town area servicing the business and resident community so there is a gaping opportunity for the right operator," Male said today.

CRL could reinvigorate the area: "We expect many more buildings around Aotea Station will be redeveloped to meet occupier demand, as owners understand the true implications of the CRL on Auckland."