Foot Locker Comp Sales Drop 2.7 Pct

Foot Locker, Inc. reported on Friday (Feb. 26) as part of its financial results that fourth-quarter comparable-store sales fell by 2.7 percent, according to a press release.

“Our teams continued to execute nimbly in the fourth quarter to manage against the headwinds to our top line. As a result, we delivered gross margin expansion and improved inventory turns, while maintaining our discipline with expense management,” Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Lauren Peters said in the press release. Peters also noted that more than 10 percent of the company’s store fleet is closed for the time being due to pandemic restrictions.

Foot Locker opened 19 new retail locations, renovated or moved 39 retail locations and shuttered 53 retail locations in the fourth quarter. It operated just under 3,000 retail locations in 28 nations in North America, Asia, New Zealand, Europe and Australia as of Jan. 30, 2021.

As for its overall results, Foot Locker reported $1.55 in non-GAAP earnings per share on total sales of $2.19 billion. Analysts had been expecting $1.35 in earnings per share on $2.29 billion in revenues.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Richard Johnson said in the press release that the company provided formidable bottom-line results in the fourth quarter, even with pandemic-released store closures and “supply chain congestion.” “Our customers responded well to our solid product offering and exciting holiday campaign, which drove stronger margins and continued acceleration of our digital business,” Johnson noted.

The company was not currently offering full-year 2021 guidance because of the continuing lack of certainty brought about by the pandemic.

In other sports-related retail news, the rise of “sweatpant nation” and other COVID-era lifestyle trends are leading the nation’s biggest sporting goods retailer to grow its footprint. In a previous statement, DICK’S Sporting Goods said it would open a traditional store in North Carolina, in addition to deep-discount “warehouse sale” stores in Oklahoma, New York, Florida and Texas.