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As Foot Locker’s turnaround plan takes hold, the company is rolling out more changes aimed at improving the business.
The sneaker retailer on Wednesday announced that it would move its global headquarters to St. Petersburg, Fla. in 2025 while maintaining a smaller presence in its current New York City office. Foot Locker also announced the upcoming opening of its Global Technology Services (GTS) Hub in Dallas, which will serve as the heart of the retailer’s tech capabilities and innovations.
Details about the moves and impact on company positions were not immediately disclosed.
“St. Petersburg has always been a center of gravity for the company,” Foot Locker president and chief executive officer Mary Dillon told FN in an interview. “Champs is headquartered there. We have a large center of gravity with executives already there across many of our commercial functions. And so for us, it’s an opportunity to bring together more of our team in one place, to drive more collaboration across the business. But we’re also going to keep a presence in New York to keep us connected to sneaker culture and basketball culture.”
On the international front, Foot Locker said it would shut down stores and e-commerce operations in South Korea, Denmark, Norway and Sweden while expanding operation in Greece, South East Europe and Romania via a licensing partner, Fourlis Group.
“We’re always looking at how we can simplify and optimize the business as we move forward and to really bring greater focus to our core banners, our core markets and improve our profitability,” Dillon said.
For the second quarter, Foot Locker reported revenue growth of 1.9 percent to $1.896 billion, in line with the $1.89 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Yahoo Finance. Net loss was $12 million in the second quarter, compared with a net loss of $5 million in Q2 the prior year. Non-GAAP loss per share was 5 cents, which was ahead of analysts’ expectations of a loss of 7 cents.
Notably, comparable sales saw positive growth for the first time in six quarters and was up by 2.6 percent. This was led by 5.2 percent bump in global Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker comparable sales.
“We’re pleased with our strong performance in the second quarter and really believe it indicates that the Lace Up plan is working,” Dillon said, referring to Foot Locker’s strategic plan announced in 2023 to diversify its brand portfolio mix, relaunch the Foot Locker brand with new store formats focused on an off-mall presence, maximize its loyalty program and invest in technology to enhance the customer journey.