Earlier this week, Michael Jordan was in town and as part of his trip back to the Chi, he revealed with Jordan Brand the upcoming plans for a flagship Jordan store in the heart of downtown — 32 South State.
He also spent some time talking with the great Scoop Jackson about the store, brand, and business and it’s a pretty revealing look into his consumer-first mindset. Obviously, that’s also pretty amazing to read, especially with the many nods of appreciation for Chicago.
Just look at a couple of the quotables below, read the full piece here, and check out the accompanying ESPN article that breaks down some of the crazy numbers and facts from Jordan’s first deal with Nike.
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“There are two ways you can look at it. We don’t really know how big this can get. We know we have to lay the footwork and let the consumer, let the city, let the community dictate how we go about things. This is no different than the Jordan Brand itself. No one knew how big the Jordan Brand was going to get!”
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“We want the consumer — and the city of Chicago and the community — to understand the equity that is put into this. This is something that they created, earned and have been a part of for so many years. So as they see the growth, I want them to feel pride about it too. I want them to understand that, “Hey, we all want to have it, we’re all the originals, we’re Chicago, we get all of the different types of creativity that’s [going to] happen in this building.” It’s going to be unparalleled to any other building because of me playing here in Chicago and me starting here in Chicago.”
– Michael Jordan
Gowhere Hip Hop 