TLDR; Brands like Nike don't want to partner with 1000s of outlets that they typically did. Instead they will only work with 10s of partners who are willing to invest in creating brand specific unique experiences.

I am not sure if this is right approach. I think the whole era of "brand ambassador", "store experience" etc has ended. Previously brands carried promise of quality and uniqueness however these days this promise has been transferred to store itself that distributes those brands. Now these distributors are able to get similar quality from relatively unknown brands and sell at higher margin. This likely because most brands have centralized their manufacturing to places like China and there is usually same manufacturer there which produces same goods, one with brand label and other without. So as brands have outsourced their manufacturing, they have also outsourced their expertise.