Popular Sports Retailer Now Makes Unexpected Closures

January 17, 2024

A popular sports retailer now makes unexpected closures as it announces a whopping 125 stores will now shutter.

Champs Sports is an American sports retail store, it operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker.

Products sold at Champs Sports include apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories.

As of June 2019, there were 540 store locations found throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

However, the company says it has planned to close 125 stores across the country over the course of 2024.

The athletic-wear retailer kicked off the mass closure by shutting one of its stores down this week.

The Champs location at the Ocean County Mall in Toms River, New Jersey, was expected to close on January 14, local outlet Patch reported.

The shutdown comes amid an even larger mass closure by Champs’ parent company, Foot Locker.

Foot Locker announced in March that it plans to close a whopping 400 stores by the year 2026.

While it’s unclear exactly why the Toms River branch of Champs Sports closed down, Foot Locker’s previous announcements offer clues, reports The-Sun.

The company said it plans to shut “underperforming” locations, particularly those in malls.

Instead, it plans to focus on standalone stores that are less dependent on “anchor” stores, the big box chains that drive traffic to shopping malls.

When anchor stores like Macy’s or JCPenney close, smaller chains like Foot Locker and Champs take a major hit, as fewer customers are passing by their locations.

The footwear business has also suffered as manufacturers like Nike move toward direct sales, per TheStreet.

That means fewer of the popular brand’s shoes are available — the company cut back Foot Locker’s allocation.

Foot Locker’s CEO and president Mary Dillon said in an August earnings call that Champs was being impacted by the change.

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Also Read: A Beloved Clothing Store Now Makes Unexpected Closures

Other Economy News Today

A massive supply chain is now laying off hundreds of employees at its facility in Memphis, Tennessee, according to a WARN filing.

GXO Logistics Supply Chain will permanently lay off an unexpected 211 employees, reports RetailDive.

Layoffs at the Imagination Drive facility are expected to begin on March 6, with separations completed by April 27, according to the notice.

“We’re ending operations with one of our customers in the Memphis, [Tennessee] area,” a GXO spokesperson told Supply Chain Dive in an email.

“As a result, impacted employees will have the opportunity to apply for open roles and transfer to nearby GXO sites that serve other customers.”

The logistics company has reduced its operational footprint over the last two years.

In October 2022, GXO said it would shutter two facilities in Texas servicing Pepsi.

Later in February 2023, the company closed a facility in Wisconsin, laying off 144 employees.

That same month, GXO cut 85 workers after ceasing operations at a facility in Indiana.

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Also Read: A Massive US Bank is Now Closing Credit Cards

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