Foot Locker renews its essence to overcome the downturn in the sports sector. The American sports equipment distribution company This Friday the first establishment in Europe of what will be the new store concept will open of the brand around the world. Foot Locker, which is immersed in a strategic plan to increase its sales, plans to invest up to $1 billion in three years in the opening and renovation of its stores around the world.
The French store, located in the La Défense neighborhood in Paris, is the company’s second with the new concept, which debuted four weeks ago in New Jersey (United States), the company’s local market. Throughout 2024, the next planned openings will be in the cities of New York (United States), Melbourne (Australia) and New Delhi (India), as explained by Tomas Petersson, vice president and general director of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region of Foot Locker, to Modaes.
“Through this new store concept, we are reinforcing Foot Locker’s leadership position within the world of sneakers and we look forward to introducing this format in other markets in the coming months around the world,” adds Petersson. By the end of 2025, the company expects to have renovated two-thirds of its store network.
Foot Locker will invest $1 billion to renew the image of its stores around the world
Recently, The American company has delayed its strategic plan to increase its sales to 9.5 billion dollars in two years, a goal that it now plans to achieve in 2028. In 2023, Foot Locker reduced its turnover by 6.7% compared to the previous year, to $8,154 million.
The introduction of a new concept is part of this strategic plan, named Lace Up Plan, which also contemplates the diversification of the offer and consumer loyalty. To ensure its commitment to new establishments, Foot Locker carried out around a hundred pilot tests in Europe and the United States last year. The result was a clear “positive impact,” explains Petersson, in which sales productivity was raised.
Foot Locker will study the impact of the first stores on its business throughout 2025, while reviewing the company’s investments in each country, with the aim of deciding which parts of the new concept to implement in the establishments. Foot Locker’s strategy until 2026 involves relocating, remodeling or opening new stores in the main global capitals.
Through the new store concept, Foot Locker aims to elevate the consumer experience during the purchasing process. Some of the new features include spaces dedicated to exclusive collections, a more open and organic space, spaces dedicated to customizing the sneakers and a greater technological presence that connects the physical channel with the online one.
The American company presents today the results for the first quarter of the year, the first after registering a drop in sales at the end of 2023. Petersson explains that Foot Locker foresees “general growth” in the European market. The manager has also highlighted the importance of Spain as a “key market” for the company, in which consumers increasingly demand more “new” stores and brands, such as New Balance, Asics or On Running, compared to the traditional offer of Adidas or Nike.
Foot Locker’s strategic plan seeks to weather the widespread decline in the fashion and sports equipment sector. Giants in the sector such as Nike or Adidas have had several difficult quarters, which has led them to devise cost reduction plans. While Nike increased its sales by just 1% in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (ended on February 29), to 38,756 million dollars, Adidas barely managed to emerge from losses in the first quarter of its year (ended on March 31 ).
