Foot Locker to Sell Eastbay Brand to BSN Sports

Foot Locker

Sporting goods and apparel company BSN Sports is set to acquire high school and college athletic wear provider Eastbay Team Sales from Foot Locker, the company announced in a press release Monday (June 27).Terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1980 in Wisconsin, Eastbay has been owned by Foot Locker since 1997, according to the release. BSN has more than 1,100 field sales staff working with coaches and athletic directors at schools all over the country.

“We are excited that the employees of Eastbay Team Sales will be joining the BSN Sports family, which is dedicated exclusively to serving athletes, athletic directors and coaches who impact more lives in a year than most people do in a lifetime,” said BSN President Terry Babilla in the release.

Based in Dallas, BSN is a division of Varsity Brands, one of Bain Capital’s portfolio companies.

Last month, Foot Locker reported a 1% increase in sales for the three-month period ending April 20, while comparable-store sales fell about 2% in the same period, a sign that shoppers were likely meeting their clothing/shoe-buy needs online.

Read more: Foot Locker Gains Stronger Foothold in Athletic Retail Market

“We are off to a strong start in 2022, reporting a solid quarter against the tough comparisons of fiscal stimulus and historically-low promotions from last year,” said Foot Locker Chairman and CEO Richard Johnson at the time. “Our progress in broadening and enriching our assortment continues, as we continue to meet our customers’ demand for choice.”

Also in May, Foot Locker became Adidas’ chief partner in basketball as part of a deal that will also boost so-called “energy” and “hype” launches, and develop and expand the brand in the women’s, kids’ and apparel sectors.

See more: Germany’s Adidas, Foot Locker Enhance Partnership Around Customer Experience, Connectivity

The collaboration is aimed at reaching more than $2 billion in retail sales by 2025 in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia-Pacific (APAC). That figure is nearly three times the level of retail sales in 2021.