Foot Locker Winds Down Sportswear Brand Business Eastbay.com

Foot Locker is sunsetting its Eastbay.com sportswear brand business.

The unit’s distribution operations are to start winding down in January, and its Wausau, Wisconsin, facility is to be shut down by April, HITC reported Wednesday (Dec. 28).

The move follows the sale of Eastbay Team Sales to sporting goods and apparel company BSN Sports. As PYMNTS reported in June, Foot Locker had owned Eastbay since 1997.

“These moves help to simplify our business operations and allows us to focus our teams and corporate services on our largest and most profitable banners and operating units,” Foot Locker Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Franklin R. Bracken said Nov. 18 during the company’s quarterly earnings call.

The closure of the Eastbay distribution operations is part of an effort by Foot Locker to optimize its distribution network, according to the HITC report.

With the growth of online retail, the demand for orders moved from Eastbay’s facility to other locations, and Foot Locker has determined that it can serve its U.S. customers more efficiently and effectively from other locations, the report said.

In an FAQ on the Eastbay website, Foot Locker told customers that they can use their rewards points and gift cards across the Foot Locker family of brands and can shop at the Foot Locker-owned Champs Sports online store and brick-and-mortar locations.

At the time of its acquisition of Eastbay Team Sales from Foot Locker, BSN Sports President Terry Babilla said: “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.”

Foot Locker is catering to consumers’ desire for affordable luxury and a fun shopping experience, company executives said Nov. 18 during its quarterly earnings call.

By doing so, the firm achieved better-than-expected results in a volatile macroeconomic environment during the quarter ended Oct. 29.

“Sneakers are an affordable luxury — a dynamic that we believe is helping to keep our category resilient in the face of steep inflationary pressures,” Foot Locker President and CEO Mary Dillon said during the call.

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