RETAIL : Nike Town Opening Delayed to May 1 as Job-Seekers Interview

The opening date for Nike Town, the athletic shoemaker’s much-ballyhooed retail store at Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, has been pushed back from March until May 1. But Nike executives are in town now to interview candidates for the store’s management and staff.

Earlier this week, a pair of newspaper advertisements drew about 300 would-be salespeople, managers and floor supervisors to interviews at a hotel near John Wayne Airport. A similar session in January also attracted 300 applicants. Nike, which is based in Beaverton, Ore., intends to employ about 90 people at Triangle Square.

The interviewing process typically provides a good measure of the local economy, said Nike spokeswoman Mary Burns. A year ago, when Nike was interviewing candidates for its Chicago store, many applicants came from Sears, Roebuck & Co. and other members of Chicago’s troubled retail community.

In Orange County, Nike is attracting a good number of out-of-work retail industry veterans--as well as retail workers who still have jobs but view Nike as a more attractive alternative.

Nike also is drawing a substantial number of “very highly qualified managers with a non-retailing background,” Burns said. “These are people who want to work for Nike or another (larger) company that they can grow with. It’s a sign of the economic times.”

The Costa Mesa store won’t open for 2 1/2 months but employees are set to begin training in March. Nike, which opened Nike Town stores in Chicago and Portland, plans to open store No. 4 in Atlanta in the spring.