Foot Locker starts the year on the right foot

Foot Locker is off to a great start in 2014. The specialty athletic retailer’s first quarter sales and profits were the highest in its history for the third consecutive year.



Net income for the quarter ended May 3 was $162 million, or $1.10 per share, compared with net income of $138 million, or $0.90 per share, last year. Total net sales increased 14%, to $1.9 billion this year, compared with sales of $1.6 billion for the corresponding prior-year period. Comparable-store sales increased 7.6%.



"Every person in our company is playing an important role in producing our current strong performance, bringing passion, energy, and excellence to the execution of our strategies and initiatives as we work towards the achievement of our long-term financial and operational objectives," said chairman and CEO Ken C. Hicks.



Although the company delivered financial and operational results that were in line with or better than expected, Foot Locker said that it continues to test and develop opportunities to improve its performance even more in the future.



During the quarter, the company opened 27 new stores, remodeled or relocated 49 stores and closed 36 stores. As of May 3, the company operated 3,464 stores in 23 countries in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. In addition, 47 franchised Foot Locker stores were operating in the Middle East and South Korea, as well as 27 franchised Runners Point and Sidestep stores in Germany and Switzerland.