Foot Locker Cuts Corporate Roles, Closes Call Center and Winds Down Sidestep Banner

Shoshy Ciment
·2 min read

Foot Locker is making cuts to its staff and store fleet as it looks to trim costs under new leadership.

The footwear retailer on Thursday announced in an SEC filing that it would eliminate an undisclosed number of “corporate and support roles,” which the company expects to account for about $18 million in cost savings on an annualized basis starting in fiscal 2023.

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Foot Locker did not provide details regarding the number of employees that would be impacted by the cuts when reached for comment by FN.

The retailer is also closing its call center in Oshkosh, Wisc., according to a WARN notice filed earlier this week. The company said in a Monday letter to state officials that the permanent closure of the center between April and May would impact a total of 97 employees.

“As part of the evolving omni retail environment, the company will be centralizing its North American internal customer care team to its facility in Wausau, Wisconsin,” Foot Locker’s general counsel wrote in a note to the Department of Workforce Development and Oshkosh’s mayor Lori Palmeri.

Foot Locker previously announced plans to close a distribution center in Wausau, Wisconsin and lay off 210 employees, a process that is expected to commence this month.

Foot Locker is also winding down its Sidestep banner in Europe, which accounts for about 80 stores, the company said in the Thursday SEC filing. The move is consistent with the company’s efforts to focus on its core banners. Foot Locker also closed up its Eastbay banner last month as it consolidates the Eastbay.com retail website into the Champs Sports banner.

EVP of global lockers and Champs Sports Andy Gray has also departed the company, Foot Locker said on Thursday.

The cuts come as Foot Locker enters the new year with a slew of executive shakeups. The retailer tapped Mary Dillon as its new CEO over the summer, replacing Dick Johnson. In November, CFO Andrew Page announced he would step down from his role and CMO Jed Berger joined Kenneth Cole as its president in September.

According to Wedbush analyst Tom Nikic, Foot Locker needed a shakeup, especially as it grapples with the loss of certain Nike product in its assortment and other macro-economic headwinds.

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