Nine-and-a-half years after acquiring the sports fashion footwear chain as part of its deal for the Recklinghausen, Germany-based Runners Point Group, Foot Locker has decided to shutter Sidestep’s operation that currently consists of several dozen stores across Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In February 2019, Foot Locker operated 80 Sidestep stores across the region. In May 2020, Foot Locker made a strategic decision to shutter Runner Point stores, taking a $19 million charge related to the decision.
The latest Sidestep move by Foot Locker is part of broader cuts at the global retailer designed to streamline the organization and enhance operational efficiency under new CEO Mary Dillon, who joined the group in September 2022 from Ulta Beauty to replace the retiring Richard Johnson. An unspecified number of staff eliminations to its full- and part-time workforce of more than 49,000 is projected to save Foot Locker an estimated $18 million annually. Already out the door is Andrew Gray, EVP of Global Lockers and Champs Sports, who departed on Jan. 23. He was reportedly the last of nine senior Foot Locker executives who presented the company’s future direction to analysts in March 2019.
In November, as part of its Q3 earnings report, Foot Locker disclosed that it was abandoning a planned entry into Japan in Q4 and exiting joint ventures in Benelux and Eastern Europe at FY end. At that time, the company forecasted an annual sales decline of 4 to 5 percent, versus earlier guidance of a 6 to 7 percent drop. But Foot Locker also cited ongoing foreign currency headwinds. A week later, numerous senior executive changes were announced, including the impending departure of CFO Andrew Page, the hiring of former Ulta Beauty executive Elliott Rodgers as EVP/chief operations officer, and the promotion of 12-year Foot Locker veteran Frank Bracken to EVP/chief commercial officer.
