As Woolworth Corp. begins "the last third of a three-
year corporate-turnaround plan, it is counting on Foot
Locker and the six other chains in its athletic group to hit
home runs," according to Laura Bird of the WALL STREET
JOURNAL. But that "may be a tall order in a field that's
growing more and more crowded." Woolworth CEO Roger Farah
says that this year Woolworth plans to add about 250 new
stores to its athletic group and remodel or relocate about
300 more. In addition to Foot Locker -- including Lady Foot
Locker and Kids Foot Locker -- the group includes Champs,
Athletic X-Press and Going to the Game! stores specializing
in team-logo merchandise (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/12).
BOXED OUT OF APPAREL MARKET? Although Foot Locker
remains the top retailer in athletic footwear, the JOURNAL's
Bird notes it "may not be positioned to take advantage" of
the apparel market, where "the real growth in sporting goods
these days is in." Genesis Merchant Group Securities
analyst Bernard Sosnick says that Foot Locker's small
specialty stores in an enclosed mall or urban area are "too
small" to handle apparel. Bird adds the stores don't have
"nearly enough room to create the kinds of brand 'boutiques'
that Nike and other footwear makers think they should have
to showcase their new lines of clothing and accessories."
Foot Locker is also "increasingly threatened on its home
turf, the shopping mall." JCPenney, which has expanded the
amount of space it devotes to athletic apparel and shoes,
has become one of its "most formidable competitors."
JCPenney is second to Foot Locker in Nike shoe sales and the
No. 1 seller of Nike apparel (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 3/12).
GIVING ORDERS? Woolworth says reports that Foot Locker
cut orders to Nike "aren't true," according to Alexis
Christoforous of "Bloomberg Business News." Nike's shares
fell as much as 6% after Sporting Goods Intelligence
reported Foot Locker cancelled a large part of its orders
for back-to-school products with Nike (PBS, 3/12). "Nightly
Business Report" also noted that Nike topped the active list
on NYSE. Montgomery Securities downgraded the Nike stock
from buy to hold, but Morgan Stanley repeated a strong buy
on Nike, despite the Foot Locker "rumor" ("NBR," 3/11).
