Interesting marketing stories?

[Davidl]

A story I heard a while ago is about how Nike has a store front that is multi storied, has thousands of items and staff, yet month after month, never turn a profit. Each month no matter how much they sold they wouldn't come close to the amount owed for rent and the cost of operating the store. It was explained that the store was to act only as a showroom for people to try clothing, interact with the sales people and its main purpose was to be a billboard in high traffic areas.

I'm always interested in learning about marketing, have you heard of any other companies or tactics that are similar?

[Freelancier]

By definition, marketing is an expense and therefore never going to turn a profit.

I'd bet that most showy retail storefronts in large urban markets like New York City are at-best break-even propositions with secondary marketing purposes.

[David Hunter]

Even though the Nike store loses money... it probably makes up for it with customers purchasing Nike brand elsewhere.

[shrinkme]

Yes... Times Square would be a good example of store fronts there to build brands and potentially not make a profit (although I see a lot of tourists buying things). Being on Michigan Avenue in Chicago would also be a good idea for a big brand.

[JC]

A story I heard a while ago is about how Nike has a store front that is multi storied, has thousands of items and staff, yet month after month, never turn a profit. Each month no matter how much they sold they wouldn't come close to the amount owed for rent and the cost of operating the store. It was explained that the store was to act only as a showroom for people to try clothing, interact with the sales people and its main purpose was to be a billboard in high traffic areas.

I'm always interested in learning about marketing, have you heard of any other companies or tactics that are similar?

Yes, Apple. Steve Jobs was notorious for spending lavish amounts of money on the smallest details while totally disregarding the advice of others to the point of being thrown out of his own company. He would even insist that his factories be painted white and the machines painted various colors (against the advice of everyone) to leave a profound impact on visitors. I'm actually reading "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson in between posts today for the 3rd time lol. Very interesting book about an eccentric man who created one of the most successful companies ever.