AN INTERNATIONAL American sports clothing brand is looking to fill in a GAP in Bournemouth’s Castlepoint shopping centre. 

Nike, a company known for its trainers and sportswear, have revealed plans to move into the empty GAP unit at the shopping centre. 

GAP has been unoccupied since the summer of 2021 following the clothing company’s decision to close all stores in the UK and move entirely online. The company has since parked that idea. 

Nike has submitted a planning application to BCP Council to open their store in Castlepoint with initial sketches showing the famous tick insignia. 

Bournemouth Echo: Castlepoint shopping centreCastlepoint shopping centre (Image: Daily Echo)

We have contacted Nike for more details. 

Nike only has 30 stores open in England, with the closest being in Portsmouth. The Bournemouth store will be the brand’s second store in the south west after the Swindon branch. 

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Products made by Nike are also sold in a JD Sports shop in Castlepoint. 

The potential new store could fill one of three unoccupied units in the Bournemouth shopping centre. 

Most recently, the old Mountain Warehouse unit was emptied after the company moved to a larger site in Castlepoint. 

Bournemouth Echo: Nike's plans to BCP CouncilNike's plans to BCP Council (Image: Nike)

The mountaineering shop now has its largest store in the UK in Bournemouth after it relocated in December and is between New Look and Monsoon. 

Elsewhere in Castlepoint, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton, which all shared two large units in Castlepoint, closed in 2021. 

The old Argos store, next to Asda, is currently being used as the base and storage for donations going to Ukraine with charity Ukraine Relief. 

Castlepoint shopping centre covers 645,000 sq ft and is named as the ‘largest dedicated shopping destination on the3 south coast’. 

An average of 90,000 cars visit Castlepoint each week and the centre has 3,000 free parking spaces – when there’s no building work. 

Sainsbury’s, Marks & Spencer, Asda and B&Q are amongst the big names still at Castlepoint.