STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — If you absolutely need a pair of Air Max 270′s or are looking for some Mid ‘77s to freshen up your “fit” — you might want to skip your area sportswear store. In its most recent bid to break away from the nation’s largest shoe retailers and focus on direct-to-consumer sales, Nike has officially cut ties with Foot Locker, making many of the brand’s popular shoes increasingly harder to find.
The breakup announcement was made late last week, according to recent reports, when — during an earnings call — Foot Locker CFO Andrew Page said the “change reflects Nike’s accelerated strategic shift to direct-to-consumer and Foot Locker’s ongoing brand and category diversification efforts.”
According to a report on Yahoo Finance, Page, warning of lost business from this shift, said no single vendor is expected to represent more than 60% of its business in 2022. Numbers released by Foot Locker show that Nike represented 70% of the shoe retailer’s business in 2021 and 75% in 2020. And while some Nike product will still be present at the shoe chain for the time being, the quantities will be small.
“There was a concentration into some very specific styles that Nike certainly drives through their direct-to-consumer [business], and that’s where the allocation pressure will be,” added Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson, the media outlet reported. “We still have access to all of those products, we’ll just see different quantities flowing our way.”
The popular sportswear and sneaker company, which has been cutting back on third-party distribution for years, starting with the discontinuation of direct sales on Amazon in 2019, has also yanked products from Dillard’s, Macy’s, Urban Outfitters, Olympia Sports, Shoe Show, Zappos and DSW.
According to an article on Forbes.com, at one time the shoe giant said it planned to retain Foot Locker, as well as Dick’s Sporting Goods, but obviously reversed course on the former. Dick’s website still lists more than 12,000 Nike products available, and Nike has not said it has any plans to end that relationship, Forbes noted.
So where can you still find Nikes locally?
The shoes are still on shelves at Dick’s Sporting Goods in New Springville, and the Nike Factory Store at Empire Outlets is also fully stocked. And some styles will continue to retail at Foot Locker despite the change. Staten Island Foot Locker locations can be found in the Staten Island Mall, New Springville.
RetailWire.com reported that Nike product will begin to wean from Foot Locker in the fourth quarter of 2022, but will still remain in stores in a limited format.
On the earnings call, Johnson, Foot Locker’s CEO, said Nike will “remain an important partner for our business, especially in basketball, kids and sneaker culture, where we have an unrivaled connection with our consumers.”
The big blow, RetailWire noted, will come from reduced allocations of “high heat” product, such as retro Air Jordans and LeBron James’ signature shoe.
“We’ll still have access,” Johnson said. “We’ll just see fewer units in those SKUs.”
To make up for the Nike reduction, the chain is increasing allocations in Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Timberland, Ugg, Reebok, Crocs and other brands, a move that Johnson views as a better positioning of the store to be “a true house of brands.”
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism