As it shuts stores globally, Foot Locker plans HQ move to St. Pete

Global retailer Foot Locker is moving its headquarters from New York City to St. Petersburg as it continues to shutter stores worldwide in an effort to cut costs.

The $8.1 billion sportswear and footwear company announced the decision in an earnings statement Wednesday, saying it would move its corporate offices out of New York by the end of next year.

Foot Locker President and CEO Mary Dillon says in the quarterly earnings report that the decision to move to St. Petersburg was part of an effort “to better support our strategic progress, to increase team member collaboration, as well as ongoing expense discipline.”

“I remain confident that we are taking the right actions to position the company for its next 50 years of profitable growth and create long-term shareholder value,” she says in the report.

Beyond that, the company provided no specifics.

In an emailed statement to the Business Observer, a Foot Locker spokesperson writes that the move is part of a company program called the Lace Up Plan “created to pursue ongoing expense discipline and advance the long-term operations and growth of the company.”

“Building upon a meaningful presence in St. Petersburg, the company is confident these changes will unlock opportunities for collaboration across banners and commercial teams,” the spokesperson writes. “We intend to maintain only a limited presence in New York City to ensure customer and sneaker connectivity.”

The spokesperson did not answer questions about where its offices would be or provide a clearer timeline for the move.

The spokesperson also declined to answer a question about its “meaningful presence in St. Petersburg” saying in a follow up email that she is “unable to share additional details about our executive and commercial presence.”

But according to Pinellas County Economic Development, the estimated 175 net new jobs coming will result in an estimated total of 330 employees in St. Petersburg.

The announcement comes about three years after the global retailer began looking to relocate to Central Florida and secured nearly $500,000 in incentives from St. Petersburg’s City Council and Pinellas County.

Pinellas County Economic Development Director Cynthia Johnson says the incentives approved to lure the Fortune 500 compare remain available.

She says the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption Resolution commissioners approved at the time named the company as a qualified applicant, allowing it to continue its competitive search, a process that can take years, without losing the ability to receive the incentives.

Now that the decision is official, Johnson says she is “delighted” and that Foot Locker’s relocation “serves as a transformative project that boosts the growth of job opportunities” as well as being a “testament to Pinellas County’s” attractive business climate.

With the eventual relocation to St. Petersburg, Johnson says it will join several other Fortune 500 companies already calling the county home. That includes, Jabil and Raymond James in the city of St. Petersburg and TD Synnex in the city of Largo.

Foot Locker, like many retailers with big mall presences, has faced economic troubles in recent years that has forced it to shut down locations. Just last year it announced it planned to close 400 stores by 2026.

According to the earnings report, it operates 2,464 stores in 26 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand as of Aug. 3. In addition to those, it has 213 licensed stores operating in the Middle East and Asia.

According to the earnings report issued Wednesday, during the second quarter it opened five new stores and closed 31. It also remodeled or relocated 14 stores and refreshed 67 stores to meet its current design standards.

And as part of its Lace Up Plan, internationally it is closing stores and e-commerce operations in several countries as well as signing licensing agreements in Greece and Romania.

“Combined,” Foot Locker says in the earnings report, “these actions will result in the closure or transfer of operations for approximately 30 stores of the company's 140 stores in Asia Pacific and 629 stores in Europe. These changes are expected to be completed by mid-2025.”

Overall, the company reported Wednesday that its revenue for the second quarter was $1.9 billion, up 1.9% from $1.87 billion for the same period last year.