Dick’s Sporting Goods is buying Foot Locker for $2.4 billion
Athletic retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods plans to buy Foot Locker, the seller of shoes in many a shopping mall, for about $2.4 billion.
Dick’s is the largest sports retail chain in the U.S. It’s been on strong financial footing, but it doesn’t have reach outside the country.
Foot Locker, for its part, has struggled as a mall-based chain, but it has a massive footprint of stores — about 2,400 across 20 countries. Dick’s says Foot Locker has a broad range of shoppers to bring to the chain.
“The Foot Locker banner, which brings a more urban consumer and exposure to basketball and sneaker culture, can complement Dick’s customer who skews toward athletes and suburban families,” analyst Cristina Fernández of Telsey Advisory Group wrote in a note on Thursday.
Still, Dick’s investors did not welcome the news, given Foot Locker’s declining sales and waves of store closures. They sent the stock tumbling more than 14% on Thursday.
Ed Stack, executive chairman, appeared to address this in his statement, saying his company “long admired the cultural significance” built by Foot Locker.
“We believe there is meaningful opportunity for growth ahead,” Stack said. “Together, we will leverage the complementary strengths of both organizations to better serve the broad and evolving needs of global sports retail consumers.”
Combined, the two retailers will have to wade the choppy waters of new tariffs on imports, including footwear. And they’ll face the growing challenge of big brands trying to sell more shoes directly to shoppers themselves.
“By joining forces with DICK’S, Foot Locker will be even better positioned to expand sneaker culture, elevate the omnichannel experience for our customers and brand partners, and enhance our position in the industry,” Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon said in a statement.
Dick’s says it plans to keep Foot Locker as its own chain under its own name after the deal goes through in the second half of this year. Foot Locker shareholders and government regulators still need to approve it.
Netflix’s ‘The Eternaut’ makes a haunting series of an esteemed Argentine comic
El Eternauta has acquired near-mythic status in Argentina since it was first published in 1957.
This city is exploring an unconventional solution to water scarcity: sewage
A booming population and changing climate have strained water supplies in St. George, Utah. Local leaders are betting that recycled wastewater can keep the city's taps flowing.
President Trump said he fired a Smithsonian museum director. Can he do that?
Since taking office, President Trump has aggressively tried to reshape cultural institutions. Last month, he claimed he was firing the director of the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
‘I don’t have no pity party’: Alabama execution set for Tuesday evening
Gregory Hunt is scheduled to be executed for the 1988 murder of Karen Lane in Walker County. It would be Alabama's fifth execution by nitrogen gas.
4 things to know about the immigration raid protests that roiled LA this weekend
Protesters opposed to federal immigration raids faced off with law enforcement in Los Angeles over the weekend. President Trump called in the National Guard against the wishes of the governor.
Trump’s trade war is raising money for the government, but at whose expense?
Tariff collections are up sharply in the last 2 months. Congressional forecasters say tariffs could help reduce the federal debt, but they'll also lead to higher inflation and slower economic growth.
