Last year, Foot Locker officials laid out a vital strategy aimed at enhancing sales and the customer experience.
In 2013, Foot Locker focused on store remodeling, intended to boost sales per square foot and enhance the look and feel of the stores. In addition, remodeling helps Foot Locker keep pace with changing customer tastes and preferences, particularly with regard to product placement and display of product choices.
The company also began testing SIX:02 last year, a new retail concept which features top brands of fitness apparel and athletic footwear for women. The new concept focuses on the needs of performance-oriented customers. The Lady Foot Locker concept had been the worst performer among the company's domestic concepts, but according to Foot Locker’s Chief Operating Officer, Richard A. Johnson, the SIX:02 stores are performing well when compared with the Lady Foot Locker chain.
What’s more, the company also focused on improving its online capabilities to enhance customer experience and competitiveness. Foot Locker CEO and Chairman Kenneth C. Hicks said last year: “We have invested in a variety of ways to offer our inventory in order to better serve our customers. We’ve long had a stock locator process that allows product to be shipped to the customer from another store or warehouse if it isn’t available in the store they happen to be in. Now we'll have buy online, reserve in-store; buy online, ship from store; buy online, pay in-store; and quite a few other variations.”
This strategy has paid huge dividends for Foot Locker, which on Aug. 22 reported net income of $92 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 2. Same-store sales increased 7% while total sales for the quarter rose nearly 13%, to $1.64 billion.
Providing a variety of options to buy will improve customer experience and satisfaction, which will eventually improve sales and the company’s brand image, Hicks said one year ago. Foot Locker’s retail space does not add much value to the product directly, but he said what it does is add value surrounding the product, making the customer’s buying experience unique and more satisfactory.
“In my view, providing a variety of buying options, enabling customers to buy in the store, online, and both (with many options), offers customers the convenience they desire,” Hicks said.
Hicks was very pleased with the second-quarter results.
“The team at Foot Locker once again achieved record levels of sales and profits in the second quarter, and I am extremely proud of their efforts,” he said. “We delivered excellent financial and operational results through the outstanding execution of our strategic priorities. This continues to be a winning formula for us, and we remain committed to taking full advantage of the many opportunities we have identified over the near, intermediate, and longer terms to continue producing a consistent, strong performance.”
During the second quarter, Foot Locker opened 14 new stores, remodeled/relocated 112 stores and closed 18 stores. As of August 2, 2014, the company operated 3,460 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. What’s more, 47 franchised Foot Locker stores were operating in the Middle East and South Korea, as well as 27 franchised Runners Point and Sidestep stores in Germany and Switzerland.