Foot Locker swings to loss in Q2
Foot Locker Inc. reported a net loss amid falling sales in a difficult second quarter of fiscal 2023.
The New York-based athletic footwear and apparel retailer reported a loss of $5 million in the second quarter ended July 29, 2023, as compared with net income of $94 million in the corresponding prior-year period. Foot Locker had a net loss of $0.05 per share, as compared with income of $0.99 per share in the second quarter of 2022.
Total sales decreased by 9.9% to $1.86 billion, as compared with sales of $2.06 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2022. Same-store sales decreased by 9.4%, which Foot Locker said was driven by ongoing consumer softness, changing vendor mix, and the repositioning of its Champs Sports banner.
The company's updated full year 2023 outlook, which accounts for a 53rd week, includes:
- A sales decline of 8 to 9% (including 1% from the 53rd week).
- Same-store sales decrease of 9 to 10%, a continuation of year-to-date trends at mid-point.
- Square footage reduction of 4%.
These results follow a difficult first quarter of fiscal 2023 that saw falling sales and earnings that missed Street estimates. As part of a new “Lace Up” plan, the company is closing underperforming stores, shifting to off-mall locations and opening new formats.
In July 2023, Foot Locker told Chain Store Age that it is unifying its various streams of customer feedback data for enhanced analysis with artificial intelligence (AI)-based natural language processing (NLP) and text analytics technology from InMoment.