Foot Locker to Buy WSS and Atmos for Combined $1.1 Billion in Cash
Foot Locker (FL) – Get Report on Monday said it will spend about $1.1 billion in cash to buy two different footwear and apparel retailers as it looks to further expand its post-pandemic footprint outside of North American shopping malls.
In two separate announcements, Foot Locker said it will pay $750 million to buy Los Angeles-based athletic retailer WSS and $360 million to buy Japan-based sneaker and streetwear retailer Atmos.
WSS, which recorded $425 million in revenue in 2020, has 93 stores across the West Coast and Southwest, while Atmos recorded $175 million in sales in 2020, with a majority of its stores in Japan and a small number of stores in the U.S.
“Both transactions reflect our commitment to our growth strategy and engaging with new and incremental consumers,” Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson said in a statement.
“With our ongoing investments in the business, we are confident in our ability to continue creating significant long-term value for our shareholders, consumers, vendor partners, and other stakeholders.”
Both companies will retain their names, operating as new banners in Foot Locker’s portfolio. The deals are expected to close in the third quarter.
Foot Locker previously announced plans to move more of its roughly 3,000 stores outside of enclosed malls, a strategy that the coronavirus pandemic had accelerated, Johnson said in a post-earnings call last year.
Foot Locker in May posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings thanks to a surge in same-store sales as shoppers returned from pandemic-triggered closures, though the New York-based company opted not to provide forward guidance.
Foot Locker stock ended the trading day Friday up 0.46% at $57.46. The stock has rallied more than 40% year to date vs. the S&P 500’s 17% advance. The stock has risen more than 110% since August 2020.
