Foot Locker

{{short description|American multinational footwear and sportswear retail company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Foot Locker, Inc.

| logo = FootLockerInc.svg

| logo_caption = Logo used since 2025

| former_name = {{ublist |F. W. Woolworth Company (1879–1989)| Woolworth Corporation (1989–1998) |Venator Group (1998–2001)}}

| type = Public (sale to Dick's Sporting Goods pending)

| traded_as = {{ubl|{{NYSE|FL}}|S&P 600 component}}

| predecessor = F. W. Woolworth Company

| founded = {{Start date and age|1879|02|22}} (company)
{{Start date and age|1974|09|12}} (brand)

| founders = F. W. Woolworth and Santiago Lopez

| hq_location =

| hq_location_city = New York City

| hq_location_country = U.S.

| num_locations = 2,523 stores (2023)

| area_served = Worldwide

| key_people = {{ublist|Mary Dillon (President & CEO)}}

| industry = Clothing

| brands = {{ublist |Foot Locker |Kids Foot Locker |Lady Foot Locker |House Of Hoops |}}

| revenue = {{decrease}} {{US$|8.15 billion|link=yes}} (2023){{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000850209/000143774924009866/floc20240203_10k.htm |title=Foot Locker, Inc. 2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=March 28, 2024 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |website=sec.gov}}

| operating_income = {{decrease}} {{US$|142 million}} (2023)

| net_income = {{decrease}} {{US$|-330 million}} (2023)

| assets = {{decrease}} {{US$|6.87 billion}} (2023)

| equity = {{decrease}} {{US$|2.89 billion}} (2023)

| num_employees = 46,846 (2023)

| subsid = Champs Sports
WSS
Runner's Point
Sidestep

| website = {{URL|footlocker.com}}

| footnotes =

}}

Foot Locker, Inc. is an American multinational retailer of footwear, sportswear, urban youth apparel and accessories headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City,"[http://www.footlocker-inc.com/ Foot Locker, Inc.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721084727/https://www.footlocker-inc.com/ |date=July 21, 2023 }}" Foot Locker. Retrieved on January 22, 2010. and operating in over 40 countries.

Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in 1988, Foot Locker's roots date to 1879, as it is a successor corporation to the F. W. Woolworth Company (“Woolworth's”), which changed its name to Foot Locker in 2001, as many of its freestanding stores were Kinney Shoes and Woolworth's locations.{{Cite news |last= |first= |date=2001-11-02 |title=COMPANY NEWS; VENATOR, ONCE WOOLWORTH, IS NOW FOOT LOCKER |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/02/business/company-news-venator-once-woolworth-is-now-foot-locker.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |issn=0362-4331}} The company operates the eponymous “Foot Locker” chain of athletic footwear retail outlets (along with “Kids Foot Locker” and “Lady Foot Locker” stores), and other athletic-based divisions including Champs Sports, Footaction USA, House of Hoops, and Eastbay/Footlocker.com, which owns the rights to [https://www.final-score.com/ Final-Score]. The company is also famous for its employees' uniforms at its flagship Foot Locker chain, resembling those of referees.

File:Foot Locker Southern Park Mall.jpg, Boardman, Ohio.]]

According to the company's filings with the SEC, as of January 2017, Foot Locker, Inc. had 3,363 primarily mall-based stores in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Nearly 70% of its products are from Nike.{{cite news|last1=Bain|first1=Marc|title=Foot Locker has a Nike problem|url=https://qz.com/1057276/foot-locker-fl-q2-earnings-the-company-has-a-nike-nke-problem/|access-date=August 18, 2017|work=Quartz (publication)|date=August 18, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818225324/https://qz.com/1057276/foot-locker-fl-q2-earnings-the-company-has-a-nike-nke-problem/|url-status=live}}

History

{{multiple image

| perrow =

| total_width = 250

| image_style =

| image1 = Foot_Locker_2020_Referee_Logo.svg

| image2 = Foot_Locker_2020_Wordmark_Logo.svg

| footer = Logos for the Foot Locker brand, used since 2020.}}

In 1963, the F. W. Woolworth Company purchased the Kinney Shoe Corporation and operated it as a subsidiary. In the 1960s, Kinney branched into specialty shoe stores, including Stylco in 1967, Susie Casuals in 1968, and Foot Locker on September 12, 1974. The first Foot Locker opened in the Puente Hills Mall in City of Industry, California.{{cite web|url=http://solecollector.com/news/the-evolution-of-foot-locker-stores-over-40-years/|title=The Evolution of Foot Locker Stores Over 40 Years|work=Sole Collector|access-date=September 9, 2014|archive-date=September 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195530/http://solecollector.com/news/the-evolution-of-foot-locker-stores-over-40-years/|url-status=live}} Woolworth also diversified its portfolio of specialty stores in the 1980s, including Afterthoughts, Northern Reflections, Rx Place, and Champs Sports. By 1989, the company pursued an aggressive strategy of multiple specialty store formats targeted at enclosed shopping malls. The idea was that if a particular concept failed at a given mall, the company could quickly replace it with a different concept. The company aimed for ten stores in each of the country's major shopping malls, but this never came to pass as Woolworth never developed that many successful specialty store formats.

In April 1989, the F.W. Woolworth Company reincorporated as a separate company, known as the Woolworth Corporation in the state of New York. The Woolworth Corporation was responsible for the operations of the Foot Locker stores, among the other specialty chains operated by Woolworth's. One of its first moves was the acquisition of Champs Sports and renaming itself the Woolworth Athletic Group.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the F.W. Woolworth Company's flagship department store chain fell into decline, ultimately culminating in the closure of the last stores operating under the name of Woolworth's in the United States in 1997. Deciding to continue aggressive expansion into the athletic business in the following years, the company acquired Eastbay in 1997, which was the largest athletic catalog retailer in the United States, as well as subsequent purchases of regional storefront retailers Sporting Goods (purchased in 1997) and The Athletic Fitters (purchased in 1998). After 1997, Wal-Mart replaced Woolworth in the Dow Jones average. The Woolworth Corporation remained the parent company of Foot Locker, and in June 1998 it changed its name to "Venator Group, Inc." By the 1990s, Foot Locker was responsible for more than 70 percent of Kinney Shoe Corp. sales, while traditional shoe retailer Kinney was in decline. Venator announced shuttering of the remaining Kinney Shoe and Footquarters stores on September 16, 1998;{{Cite news |last=Beck |first=Rachel |date=1998-09-16 |title=Kinney shoe stores getting the boot |url=https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/kinney-shoe-stores-getting-the-boot-3069735.php |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220828112037/https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Kinney-shoe-stores-getting-the-boot-3069735.php |archive-date=2022-08-28 |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=SFGATE |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=White |first=George |date=1998-09-17 |title=Venator Store Closings Will Hit 33 Kinney Shoe Shops in S. California |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-17-fi-23464-story.html |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} this decision had been preceded by the closure of all Canadian Kinney Shoe stores that April.{{Cite news |last=Reporter |first=a Wall Street Journal Staff |date=1998-04-17 |title=All 82 Kinney Shoe Stores In Canada Are to Be Shut |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB892777526745382000 |access-date=2025-04-03 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}} Matthew Serra became president and COO in 2000.{{cite web|url=https://footwearnews.com/business/business/hall-of-fame-matt-serra-82782/ |title=Hall of Fame: Matt Serra | first=Katie|last=Abel|work=Footwear News|date=November 30, 2009|access-date=March 16, 2025}}

File:Foot Locker store tower city center cleveland.JPG, Cleveland, Ohio]]

File:Foot Locker Flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui 2018.jpg, Hong Kong]]

File:FootLockerHillcrest.JPG, Richmond Hill, Ontario]]

File:Foot Locker, Southside Wandsworth.jpg, London]]

File:Footlocker.jpg, Fairbanks, Alaska]]

As the "Foot Locker" brand had become the Woolworth/Venator company's top performing line, on November 2, 2001, Venator changed its name to Foot Locker, Inc.[http://www.allbusiness.com/construction/4267011-1.html Venator Group, Inc. Announces Name Change to Foot Locker, Inc.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323014232/http://www.allbusiness.com/construction/4267011-1.html |date=March 23, 2010 }}, Retail Operations and Construction, November 2, 2001 At that time Serra became CEO of the company. In 2004 he was also named chairman. In the early 2000s the majority of Foot Locker stores were renovated and standardized. On November 19, 2004, Foot Locker announced that its quarterly profit rose 19 percent, helped by stronger sales.{{cite web |url=http://origin-www.lexisnexis.com/ap/auth/ |title=Foot Locker Profit Up |access-date=June 17, 2013 |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805224627/http://origin-www.lexisnexis.com/ap/auth/ |url-status=live }}

In 2004, Foot Locker acquired the Footaction USA brand and approximately 350 stores from Footstar for $350 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=350000000|start_year=2004}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).Scardino, Emily. [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_9_43/ai_n6016906 Foot Locker acquires Footaction Stores to step up growth] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070123005219/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FNP/is_9_43/ai_n6016906 |date=January 23, 2007 }}, DSN Retailing Today, May 3, 2004 On April 14, 2004, Foot Locker Inc. announced that it agreed to buy about 350 Footaction stores from bankrupt Footstar Inc. for $160 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=160000000|start_year=2004}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) to expand in urban areas.{{cite web |url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-118297804/foot-locker-buy-350.html |title=Foot Locker to buy about 350 stores |access-date=September 20, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054425/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-118297804/foot-locker-buy-350.html |url-status=live }}

On January 10, 2005, the company announced that Nick Grayston was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer of its

Foot Locker U.S. division, succeeding Tim Finn, who retired from the company.{{cite web |url=http://www.footlocker-inc.com/investors.cfm?page=divisional-management-changes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229234201/http://www.footlocker-inc.com/investors.cfm?page=divisional-management-changes |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 29, 2010 |title=FOOT LOCKER, INC. ANNOUNCES DIVISIONAL MANAGEMENT CHANGES }}

In 2007, Foot Locker joined with schoolPAX{{cite web|url=http://www.schoolpax.org/|title=School Pax Escola de Negócios|access-date=January 29, 2008|archive-date=November 27, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127061801/http://schoolpax.org/|url-status=dead}} to launch the Foot Locker School Rewards Program,{{cite web|url=http://www.footlocker.com/promo/default/promoid--5001907|title=Foot Locker School Rewards|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090422150908/http://www.footlocker.com/promo/default/promoid--5001907/|archive-date=April 22, 2009}} designed to provide charitable donations to schools who sign up and shop at Foot Locker with a custom-coded key tag or school code. Also that year, Foot Locker attempted a revival of the Footquarters name and store format, but put an end to the idea afte only 3 months.{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Vicki M. |date=2007-07-30 |title=Foot Locker Shuttering Footquarters Operations |url=https://wwd.com/business-news/financial/foot-locker-shuttering-footquarters-operations-488724/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=WWD |language=en-US}}

In 2008, Foot Locker purchased CCS, a skateboarding equipment retailer, from Alloy for $103 million in cash.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/business/smallbusiness/picking-up-ccs-where-foot-locker-left-off.html|title=Picking Up CCS Where Foot Locker Left Off|author=Stacy Cowley|date=September 17, 2015|work=NYT|archive-date=November 23, 2018|access-date=November 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123125123/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/17/business/smallbusiness/picking-up-ccs-where-foot-locker-left-off.html|url-status=live}} In August 2009, Ken Hicks succeeded Matt Serra as CEO.

In 2011, Foot Locker joined DoSomething.Org for the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program, which honors high school athletes for demonstrating academic excellence and flexing their hearts on their sports teams and in their communities.

On June 26, 2012, Foot Locker celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first stock offering made by its predecessor, the F. W. Woolworth Company, on the New York Stock Exchange by ringing the Closing Bell for the trading day.

In 2013, the company acquired the German retailer Runners Point Group.{{cite web |author=4-traders |url=http://www.4-traders.com/FOOT-LOCKER-INC-14991/news/Foot-Locker-Inc-Completes-Acquisition-of-Runners-Point-Group-17080040/ |title=Foot Locker, Inc. : Completes Acquisition of Runners Point Group |date=July 10, 2013 |publisher=4-Traders |access-date=August 12, 2013 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055517/http://www.4-traders.com/FOOT-LOCKER-INC-14991/news/Foot-Locker-Inc-Completes-Acquisition-of-Runners-Point-Group-17080040/ |url-status=live }}

After not meeting corporate expectations, Foot Locker planned to close its CCS unit but sold it to Daddies Board Shop in 2014. In December 2014, Ken Hicks stepped down as CEO. He was succeeded by COO Richard Johnson.{{cite web|url=https://footwearnews.com/business/executive-moves/foot-locker-ceo-move-439/ |title=Inside Foot Locker's CEO Move | first=Katie|last=Abel|work=Footwear News|date=November 4, 2014|access-date=March 18, 2025}}

Foot Locker has steadily risen in Fortune 500 rank, from 446 in 2011{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2272.html|title=Fortune 500 - Fortune|author=Brett Krasnove|date=May 9, 2014|work=Fortune|access-date=August 3, 2020|archive-date=March 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210305120831/https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2272.html|url-status=live}} to 363 in 2018.{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/fortune500/foot-locker/|title=Foot Locker, Inc.|work=Fortune|access-date=December 18, 2018|archive-date=March 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200316172256/https://fortune.com/fortune500/foot-locker/|url-status=dead}} Foot Locker recorded a record turnover of 7.151 million dollars at the end of the fiscal year 2015.{{cite web|url=https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/foot-locker-a-foot-ahead-market-expectations/2015030915788|first=Angela|last=Gonzalez-Rodriguez|date=March 9, 2015|access-date=June 11, 2015|work=FashionUnited|title=Foot Locker, a foot ahead market expectations|archive-date=June 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612145655/https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/foot-locker-a-foot-ahead-market-expectations/2015030915788|url-status=live}}

In 2019, Foot Locker invested $100 million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=100000000|start_year=2019}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in GOAT, an online resale marketplace for sneakers.{{Cite web |title=Foot Locker invests $100 million in GOAT Group |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/07/foot-locker-invests-100-million-in-goat-group/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=TechCrunch |date=February 7, 2019 |language=en-US |archive-date=March 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240302045741/https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/07/foot-locker-invests-100-million-in-goat-group/ |url-status=live }} Foot Locker was heavily damaged and looted in the riotings, with two locations destroyed by arson, following the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul in May 2020.{{Cite news |last1=Penrod |first1=Josh |last2=Sinner |first2=C.J. |date=2020-07-13 |title=Buildings damaged in Minneapolis, St. Paul after riots |work=Star Tribune |url=https://www.startribune.com/a-deeper-look-at-areas-most-damaged-by-rioting-looting-in-minneapolis-st-paul/569930671/ |access-date=2022-05-05 |archive-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403203127/https://www.startribune.com/a-deeper-look-at-areas-most-damaged-by-rioting-looting-in-minneapolis-st-paul/569930671/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Uren |first=Adam |date=2020-06-01 |title=A list of the buildings damaged, looted in Minneapolis and St. Paul |work=Bring Me The News |url=https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/a-list-of-the-buildings-damaged-looted-in-minneapolis-and-st-paul |access-date=2022-05-05 |archive-date=November 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117132239/https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/a-list-of-the-buildings-damaged-looted-in-minneapolis-and-st-paul |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Saavedre-Weis |first=Isabel |date=2020-06-04 |title=A list of St. Paul businesses damaged during the rioting |work=St. Paul Pioneer Press |url=https://www.twincities.com/2020/06/04/a-list-of-those-st-paul-businesses-and-landmarks-damaged-during-the-rioting-george-floyd/ |access-date=2022-05-05}}

In 2021, Foot Locker acquired Los Angeles–based athletic retailer WSS and Tokyo-based Atmos.{{Cite news|title=Foot Locker to Buy Two Retailers for $1.1 Billion|agency=Reuters|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/foot-locker-to-buy-two-retailers-for-1-1-billion-11627898400|access-date=2021-08-10|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=August 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210810155823/https://www.wsj.com/articles/foot-locker-to-buy-two-retailers-for-1-1-billion-11627898400|url-status=live}}

In 2022, Foot Locker announced it would aim to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-24 |title=Foot Locker, Inc. Announces Ambition to Achieve Net Zero Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions by 2050 or Sooner |url=https://esgnews.com/foot-locker-inc-announces-ambition-to-achieve-net-zero-greenhouse-gas-ghg-emissions-by-2050-or-sooner/ |access-date=2022-04-01 |website=ESG News |language=en-US |archive-date=September 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910221630/https://esgnews.com/foot-locker-inc-announces-ambition-to-achieve-net-zero-greenhouse-gas-ghg-emissions-by-2050-or-sooner/ |url-status=live }} In September 2022, Mary Dillon was named CEO, replacing the retiring Richard Johnson.{{cite web|url=https://www.retaildive.com/news/former-ulta-chief-mary-dillon-named-foot-locker-ceo/630079/ |title=Former Ulta chief Mary Dillon's arrival as Foot Locker CEO a 'narrative changer' | first=Daphne|last=Howland|work=Retail Dive|date=August 19, 2022|access-date=March 18, 2025}}

A Foot Locker outlet was looted in the June–July 2023 France riots following the police shooting of Moroccan/Algerian Nahel Merzouk.

A Foot Locker outlet was looted in the November 2023 Dublin, Ireland riots following the stabbings by Algerian Riad Bouchaker.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

In 2023, Footlocker announced plan to close up to 400 low performing stores by 2026.{{Cite web |last=Kavilanz |first=Parija |date=2023-03-20 |title=Foot Locker is closing 400 stores by 2026 {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/20/business/foot-locker-shutting-400-stores/index.html |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=CNN |language=en}}

On May 15, 2025, Dick's Sporting Goods announced that it would acquire the Foot Locker, Inc. company as well as its brands, including Foot Locker, for $2.4 billion with the acquisition set to be close by the second half of the year.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/dicks-sporting-goods-acquire-foot-locker-24-billion-2025-05-15/|title=Dick's Sporting Goods to buy Foot Locker for $2.4 billion|date=2025-05-15|work=Reuters}}

= Controversies =

On February 12, 1999, a federal jury in Austin awarded $341,000 (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=341000|start_year=1999}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}){{inflation/fn|US-GDP}} to a former Foot Locker shoe store manager who said the company systematically discriminated against its African American employees by offering more opportunities for promotions to white managers.{{cite web |title=Foot Locker loses race bias suit; African American says he was given |url=http://origin-www.lexisnexis.com/ap/auth/ |access-date=June 17, 2013 |archive-date=August 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805224627/http://origin-www.lexisnexis.com/ap/auth/ |url-status=live }}