Nike has six distribution centers in the US with the biggest being its Memphis, Tennessee location. To put the size of Nike's Memphis operation in perspective, almost every order that is placed on Nike.com is processed through this facility. Strategically speaking, it makes sense, Memphis is the perfect location - it's centrally located and also serves as a shipping hub for both USPS and FedEx. Given the volume of products that come through Memphis, it is no surprise that it is also where the most Nike and Jordan products are lost in transit or stolen. A recent video posted on Facebook illustrates that the theft can sometimes be large scale.
Theft at Nike Memphis
Taking place around midnight on September 6th, Fox 13 Memphis reports that $800,000 of footwear and apparel was stolen near the BNSF Railway on the corner of Shelby Drive and Lamar Avenue, less than 2 miles from the Nike Distribution center. Unfortunately, video surveillance is only set up near the entrance and did not capture the event on camera. With such a large number of local listings for unreleased Jordans popping up, it seems like many of the sneakers that were stolen were Holiday 2022 releases like the Air Jordan 11 Retro “Cherry,” Air Jordan 4 Retro “Canyon Purple," amongst others.
What does this mean for Holiday 2022 releases?
Considering the large scale of this incident, discussions of whether or not Nike will have to reschedule certain releases have made their way online, though in reality, this will most likely only affect allocation of stock to certain retailers. Cases of distribution thievery have become quite common in Memphis. While most aren't on this level, it happens, and Nike accounts for some percentage of sneakers to go missing when deciding production numbers for all of its products.
As more and more info emerges on this case, we’re sure to keep you updated via our Twitter or the Sole Retriever mobile app.
StockX Freezes Sales Of Certain Holiday Jordan Releases
Just days after this incident took place, StockX has stopped the sale and purchase of the Air Jordan 11 Retro "Cherry" and the Air Jordan 6 "Black Metallic Silver," likely due to an ongoing investigation regarding this robbery.
Images via Facebook
