“Nike is pleased to increase its investment in the Memphis community with this state-of-the-art facility,” says Nick Athanasakos, vice president of Nike Supply Chain. “This distribution center will be great for our employees, retail customers, and consumers, while expediting our time to market.”
The Memphis and Shelby County Industrial Development Board worked with Belz and Nike to secure the purchase, approving a payment-in-lieu-of-tax (PILOT) freeze that saved Nike $21 million. The agreement was based upon the anticipated job creation and capital investment.
“The collaboration of Belz, Nike, and the city, county and state government is a winning combination for all involved,” says Andrew J. Groveman, senior vice president, Belz. “Belz is proud to work with Nike, a major employer and strong corporate citizen of Memphis, and pleased to provide the company with such a logistically opportune facility at Northridge Industrial Park.”
A growing number of companies have realized the logistical benefits of having a facility in Memphis. Anchored by Memphis International Airport, the world’s busiest cargo airport for the last 15 consecutive years, Memphis also is home to the third-largest rail center and the fourth-largest inland port in the United States. The global headquarters for FedEx and International Paper are located in Memphis, along with several other Fortune 500 companies, including AutoZone, Inc.
“Memphis’ supreme location and reputation for logistical excellence make it an essential city for some of the world’s best companies,” says Groveman. “Industrial parks like Northridge capitalize on the city’s geography and insure tenants have everything they need to do business effectively in a state-of-the-art atmosphere.