In reporting excellent results for the second quarter, Foot Locker indicated late last month that it would like to expand the German-based Runners Point Group, which it took over a year ago, beyond the German-speaking countries and the Netherlands. The group has 214 stores trading as Runners Point and Sidestep in these countries, plus a very efficient e-commerce platform.
The group also indicated that most of its planned 80 store openings during the balance of the year will take place in Europe under the Foot Locker and Kids Foot Locker banners. There are already 12 Kids Foot Locker doors in Euroope, seven of them in France. There will also be more House of Hoops stores in Europe. Furthermore, taking its inspiration from the store that it recently opened in the Willowbrook mall in New Jersey, Foot Locker is testing a new format in Europe where it is selling shoes and clothing for men, women and children with new displays, in a brighter and more premium atmosphere than before.
Runners Point's international expansion would be led by a Nike veteran, Bart de Wilde, who is taking over as the new general manager of the Runners Point Group, based at its office in Recklinghausen. De Wilde already worked for Foot Locker Europe as marketing director for six years before joining Nike in 1998. At the Swoosh, he worked in marketing and retailing. He held responsibility for soccer in the U.S. and then took charge of sports performance and kids at Nike's European office in the Netherlands. In 2009, he was appointed by the Nike group as general manager of Umbro for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, based in Manchester, but left a year later to become a consultant following the brand's change of ownership.
De Wilde joined Runners Point last April to take the place of Harald Wittig, who will leave the company at the end of September. Wittig ran Runners Point for many years together with Otto Hurler, who left in April. They had both led the management buyout of the chain from the former Karstadt Quelle in 2005, with the help of Hannover Finanz. As each of them had a stake of 12.5 percent in the company, they made a nice profit from Runners Point's sale to Foot Locker for €72 million.
