Dick's Sporting Goods is getting an early start on spring cleaning.
The retailer said Tuesday it intends to close an unspecified number of Foot Locker locations after completing its acquisition of the company in September.
"Our first priority is clear. We need to clean out the garage of underperforming assets," executive chairman Ed Stack told investors during Dick's third-quarter earnings call. "This means clearing out unproductive inventory, closing underperforming stores, and rightsizing assets that don't align with our go-forward vision for the Foot Locker business."
Stack said that while the business shows significant promise, Foot Locker's prior leadership did not respond appropriately to market changes, including Nike's decision to shift a greater portion of its business to direct-to-consumer sales. The sportswear giant has since changed that approach, however, and is working to rebuild its relationships with retailers, including Dick's and Foot Locker.
Foot Locker ended the quarter with nearly 2,600 stores globally across several brands. The company closed 15 locations during the period.
Roughly 1,600 Foot Locker stores are in North America, and the company said Tuesday that former Nike executive Ann Freeman would head up the North American division. Former Aldi CEO Matthew Barnes is in charge of the international segment.
Stack also said the company has started an 11-store test to explore changes to Foot Locker's product assortment and in-store experience.
The company plans to share more details about which stores it plans to close in its fourth-quarter earnings report, Stack said.
