Central Cee Shut Down JD Trafford Centre Before it Even Opened

"A secret lock-in gig, a revived Air Max 95 and a 42,000-square-foot retail playground put Manchester on louder footing"

Central Cee stands in front of JD’s new Trafford Centre store sporting the iconic Nike Air Max 95 OG in Bright Mandarin. Image source: JD

At 11 pm on 6 June, JD surrendered its brand-new Trafford Centre flagship to Central Cee. The West London rapper also brought out hometown name Nemzzz for a live run-through of their joint track Dilemma.

At 42,000 square feet, this is JD’s biggest site to date. The scale and location are part of the brand’s renewed bricks-and-mortar push. The build brings the chain back to its roots in Greater Manchester, where it opened its first shop in Bury in 1981. Inside, you’ll find dedicated Nike and adidas bays, digital try-on mirrors and a curated launch calendar aimed at keeping footfall steady beyond launch day.

Central Cee and Nemzzz alongside the crowd at the JD Trafford store launch, celebrating the Nike Air Max 95 Vault release event. Image source: JD

Sneaker focus landed on a vault re-release of the Nike Air Max 95 OG Bright Mandarin, a 2011 cult colourway still colloquially nicknamed the '110' across the North-West; a reference to its original price. The limited restock dropped at 1:10 pm on 7 June, priced at £175 and displayed in glass cases marked “AM95: The Vault”.

Close-up of re-released Nike Air Max 95 OG Bright Mandarin sneaker. Image source: JD

JD calls the initiative Forever Forward: a strategy that pairs elevated shop-fits with in-store exclusives and full-family sizing, while repositioning physical retail as a cultural touchpoint. Central Cee joins a music roster that already includes Kano and Aitch, reinforcing the brand’s broader push to fold live performance into its expansion strategy.

The Manchester flagship opened to the public at 10 am on 7 June, located at 48 Regents Crescent, M17 8AP. Standard hours run from 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays, 10 am to 9 pm Saturdays, and 12 to 6 pm Sundays.

For those who missed the Mandarin 95, JD has hinted that more “Vault” reissues and late-night performances are planned before the year is out.

JD has always sold trainers. Now, it’s selling the night out that comes with them.