While it has been a banner period for sneakerheads — that is, people who collect sneakers — traditional retail sneaker and sporting goods chains have been suffering.
That’s because while releases for hot sneakers are sometimes held in stores, many have moved online. Nike, for example, will hold a sneaker drop, or release event, exclusively on its app, which cuts out the middleman.
When a sporting goods store or sneaker shop does not have the hottest items to sell, it loses out on all sorts of ancillary sales. It won’t sell sneakers, T-shirts, socks, and whatever in addition to the big new releases people are lining up for.
That has caused a major reckoning in the retail world, with a number of sporting goods players being driven out of business. It has been a fairly bleak period for the industry since Sports Authority closed in 2016, and that has most certainly not been the only shutdown.
Sporting goods & sneaker chain closures
- Sports Authority: Bankruptcy and closure in 2016
- MC Sports: Bankruptcy and closure in 2017
- Sport Chalet: Bankruptcy and closure in 2016
- Modell’s Sporting Goods: Bankruptcy and closure in 2020
- Olympia Sports: Bankruptcy and closure in 2022
- Bob’s Stores: Bankruptcy and closure in 2024
- Moosejaw: Physical stores closed by 2025 (online-only now)
Image source: Shutterstock
Foot Locker and Champs closing 400 stores
Foot Locker began closing some mall stores before its $2.4 billion sale to Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) . That deal closed on Sept. 8, and the company celebrated it in a press release.
“Dick’s is now positioned to become a global leader in the sports retail industry at the intersection of sport and culture, serving a broader set of consumers across compelling, differentiated concepts.
As a combined company, Dick’s will now operate more than 3,200 stores plus e-commerce and digital businesses across 20 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, plus a licensed store presence in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. This expanded footprint will strengthen its relationships with key brand partners by offering broader reach and enhanced visibility on a global level.”
The new company, however, is moving forward with plans to close 275 Foot Locker and 125 Champs Sports locations by the end of 2026.
Former Foot Locker CEO Mary Dillon touched on the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline its store portfolio during its fourth quarter earnings call.
“Since 2019, we’ve closed over 20% of our global doors, including the exiting of non-core banners and the exit or conversion of select international markets. In the last two years alone, we’ve also pared back our store exposure at the Champs Sports banner as part of its repositioning,” she said.
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Dillon, who left the company after the sale closed, shared some of the reasoning behind which stores were shuttered.
“And going forward, we’ll be operating with a tighter, stronger store base with reduced exposure to lower-tier malls,” she added.
Timeline of Foot Locker and Champs Sports store closures
- March 2023: Foot Locker announces plan to close 400 underperforming stores by 2026, including 275 Foot Locker and 125 Champs Sports locations.
- January 26, 2025: Champs Sports closes its oldest store at Paddock Mall in Ocala, Florida.
- July 2025: Champs Sports unveils new store concept in Tampa and Portland, focusing on technology and community engagement.
- September 2025: Dick’s Sporting Goods completes acquisition of Foot Locker for $2.4 billion, planning to operate Foot Locker as a standalone entity.
- End of 2025: Foot Locker plans to close over 100 stores by the end of the year, with specific locations to be announced.
Foot Locker’s future has changed
GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders thinks that buying Foot Locker is a positive for Dick’s.
“At present, Dick’s is the largest specialist player in the U.S. sporting goods market with an 11.1% share. It has some headroom for growth, but there are limits. Acquiring Foot Locker gives it an additional 4.3% and exposure to international markets. There will be opportunities for synergistic savings and for better negotiating power with brands like Nike,” he wrote on RetailWire.
Brad Halverson, another RetailWire Brain Trust member, sees another advantage the deal gives Dick’s.
“The upside in a Dick’s purchase here could be in the smaller, limited footage of Foot Locker retail spaces where large branded sporting goods stores are unable to go. Each location should be evaluated to determine which ones remain as athletic shoes only, while the others can offer a blended merchandising plan of sporting goods and athletic shoes,” he added.
Related: 99-year-old retail chain quietly closing over 500 stores
