Footwear Giant with Many NJ Locations Plans to Close 400 Stores

It has not been an easy year for many retail giants.

So many are closing their chains and filing for bankruptcy as they deal with "the perfect storm."

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What is "the perfect storm?"

Economic woes coupled with a shift to online shopping.

For example, Bed Bath and Beyond filed for bankruptcy in 2023 and finalized store closures early this year.

Citing decreasing demand for their items and increasing competition, Party City closed multiple stores.

Shopping malls worldwide are restructuring their business models to better accommodate digital sales and improve their already successful locations.

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One legendary mall store that is making changes is Foot Locker.

There used to be a time when you couldn't miss a Foot Locker at any mall.

Foot Locker operates more than 3,000 Foot Locker, Kids Footlocker, and Champs Sports globally.

According to CNN Business, Foot Locker will shut 400 stores by 2026.

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The footwear giant plans to "become more relevant to younger shoppers."

To do this, Foot Locker plans to relaunch its retail brands and introduce what it calls “experiential new store concepts."

One of these concepts is called "The Lace Up." CNN Business describes it as:

focusing on specific segments of sneaker shoppers. They include the sneaker maven, or sneaker-obsessed shoppers who represent themselves through their shoes; the fashion-forward expressionist who want to look and feel cool and rely on their sneakers to deliver that feeling; the athlete searching for high performance sneakers; shoppers who prioritize quality and comfort; and, finally, the deal-hunters.

Underperforming mall-based stores will be closing to simplify operations.

Online options are convenient, but I still like trying my shoes at the store.

No word yet on whether any existing Foot Locker stores will be affected. I'll keep you posted.