Niketown on East 57th Street in Manhattan became the latest New York City store to be infested with bedbugs. Store windows on Friday were covered with brown paper with the notice "temporarily closed until further notice."
A statement from Nike said the company had "proactively closed Niketown" after finding evidence of bedbugs.
"Our primary concern is the well being of our consumers and sales associates," the statement said. "We are taking all proper steps to eradicate the problem and we expect the store to reopen shortly."
Niketown joins Hollister, Abercombie & Fitch and Victoria's Secret that have seen stores in Manhattan temporarily closed due to bedbugs. Each store infestation has been splayed across the pages of tabloids along with cases reported at the AMC Times Square theater, Google's New York offices, the Empire State Building and elsewhere.
At least publicly, Bergdorf Goodman has been most proactive in dealing with the bedbug scare. An insect-sniffing beagle has been hired to parole its men's and women's departments over the last several weeks although no bedbugs have been found.
"The anxiety level is clearly high in New York," Ginger Reeder, vice president of corporate communications for Bergdorf Goodman, told The Daily News. "It seemed important to go the extra mile."
Lord & Taylor also told Women's Wear Daily it has increased the frequency of exterminations to once a week while not finding any bugs. But other stores WWD attempted to contact to explore their bedbug strategies, including Saks, Bloomingdale's, Ralph Lauren, Gap, and J.Crew, declined comment.
Speaking to New York Magazine, bedbug expert Timothy Wong said more stores in New York City are taking preventive measures behind the scenes. But he also said bedbug cases have been on the rise in the city for the last few years. "The public just didn't know about it because it's not something people want to announce," Mr. Wong said.
New York Magazine's style blogger Amy Odell wrote that while fashion companies naturally "don't want to be associated with something gross like bedbugs," she wondered why there weren't more assurances.
"Some shoppers are afraid to go into the wild world of carpeted stores full of wooden shelves and knit sweaters and so many things made of fabric and other bedbug-friendly materials," said Ms. Odell. "Is it so hard to reassure us that a bedbug-prevention plan will be in place?"
Pest control company Terminix listed New York as the most bedbug-infested city in the U.S., followed by Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati and Chicago.
Discussion questions: Should New York City stores be more proactive about communicating bedbug-prevention strategies with consumers? What other steps should stores be taking?
- Bedbugs close down flagship Nike store, Niketown New York, in Manhattan - The Daily News
- Does This Bug You, Too? - Women's Wear Daily (sub. required)
- Bergdorf Goodman has gone to the dogs - store brings in beagle to head off bedbugs - The Daily News
- Retailers Seem Afraid to Talk About Bedbugs - New York Magazine
- Bedbugs Strike Again, This Time at Victoria's Secret on Lexington - New York Magazine