The Finish Line stumbles in Q3, names new CEO

The Finish Line has promoted its president to CEO and plans to close a quarter of its stores as the retailer said supply chain problems hurt its third quarter performance.



The retailer announced that Sam Sato will succeed Glenn Lyon as CEO of The Finish Line, Inc., effective Feb. 28. Lyon will transition to the role of non-executive chairman of the board.



“During the past few years, our board and management team have worked diligently together to prepare for this change in leadership,” said Lyon. “Working with Sam for more than seven years here at Finish Line, I have seen him dramatically impact our premium brand position in the athletic retail world and, importantly, build strong bridges with our brand partners. With his tremendous strength in crucial customer-facing facets, Sam has earned a highly respected reputation across our business, internally and externally, as well as with our real estate, information technology and brand partners. I am confident Sam will lead Finish Line boldly into the future as he truly understands the importance of serving the customer in an omnichannel world.”



Sato started his executive retail career at Nordstrom in 1985 prior to joining Finish Line in March 2007 as executive VP and chief merchandising officer. He was named president and chief merchandising officer in August 2010 and became president of the Finish Line Brand in October 2012. Most recently, in October 2014 Sato was named president of The Finish Line, Inc. and was elected to the company’s board. As CEO, he will report to the board.



The Finish Line also said it plans to close up to 150 of its stores over the next four years in a bid to increase profitability. The stores targeted to be closed have average annual sales of about $1 million, the company said.



For the third quarter ended Nov. 28, the retailer reported a $21.8 million loss, or 49 cents per share, down from a profit of $2.6 million, or 5 cents per share, a year prior. Revenue decreased 3.5% to $382.1 million. Same-store sales decreased 5.8%. For the full year, the company now expects same-store sales to be up in the low-single digits and adjusted earnings per share of between $1.18 and $1.23.



Headquartered in Indianapolis, Finish Line has approximately 1,010 Finish Line branded locations primarily in U.S. malls and shops inside Macy’s department stores.