Eastbay to Shutter by End of Year
Sports retailer Eastbay said Tuesday that it is shuttering operations by the end of this year.
The Foot Locker Inc.-owned company revealed the closure in a statement on its website, writing: “We’re saying goodbye to Eastbay at the end of December 2022. We encourage you to shop at champssports.com to find great deals for your athletic shoes, clothing and more.”
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Eastbay was founded in 1980 by high school coaches Art Juedes and Rick Gering in their hometown of Wausau, Wisconsin, with the mission of making athletic shoes more accessible for small-town athletes. The company was best known for its catalogues in the ’90s, which were fixtures in the sneaker community.
The company later transitioned into its e-commerce platform in 1998, one year after Eastbay was acquired by Foot Locker Inc.
Eastbay’s closure comes after Foot Locker Inc. said in June it was selling its team sales business to sports apparel distributor BSN Sports, which is a division of Varsity Brands. The retailer also said it would be consolidating Eastbay’s e-commerce site into the Champs Sports website.
The news comes during a banner year for Foot Locker as the conglomerate revealed in August that its longtime chief executive officer and president Richard Johnson would be stepping down and taking the role of executive chairman through January. The following month, it was revealed Johnson would be succeeded by former Ulta Beauty CEO Mary Dillon. Shares of Foot Locker increased 20.1 percent to $38.40 following the news of Dillon’s appointment.
