Dick’s Sporting Goods has been one of the big success stories in the brick-and-mortar retail space.
At a time when many rivals have been shrinking their physical store counts, the sporting goods giant has leaned into stores, creating new experiential concepts and generally rethinking its retail strategy.
The chain has selectively built House of Sport locations that offer running tracks, batting cages, golf simulators, and other interactive options.
“House of Sport locations now seeing 5-6 times the number of visits per location compared to the rest of the chain. For reference, the average Dick’s Sporting Goods store is roughly 50K square feet square feet compared to 100K-120K square feet for House of Sport, indicating that House of Sport is also outperforming on a visit per square foot basis,” according to 2024 data from Placer.ai.
That’s a win, and the overall company delivered a nearly 5% comparable store sales gain in the second quarter. Chairman Edward Stack celebrated that success during the chain’s second-quarter earnings call.
“We continue to gain market share and saw many areas of strength across our portfolio,” he said.
What he did not focus on, however, was one chain the company acquired when it purchased Foot Locker. That brand, WSS, closed more than 30% of its stores in the first half of 2026.
Foot Locker has closed stores, too
Stack did acknowledge some challenges facing the chain’s Foot Locker brand.
“As you would expect, given its greater exposure to many of the legacy footwear silhouettes, the impact was more significant at Foot Locker. In addition, Foot Locker is more dependent on launch and retro product. Not only were there fewer launches in the second quarter, but the launches we did see performed below industry and our expectations,” he said.
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Dick’s, he noted, has taken some steps to protect itself from those cycles going forward.
“We’re taking action to shift the mix toward in-demand brands. And while we expect the launch calendar to be more favorable in the back half of the year, the quality of those launches will be critical,” he added.
Foot Locker North America began fiscal 2026 with 734 stores and closed the period with 715, having opened one new location and closed 20, according to an SEC filing. Kids Foot Locker opening the year with 362 locations, added three new stores, and closed 12 for a total of 353.
Dick’s, however, has slowed its plans to close more Foot Locker locations as it remodels store under its Fast Break initiative. That’s something Telsey Advisory Group (TAG) analyst Cristina Fernández supported after spending weeks visiting stores with her team.
“At Foot Locker, the stores we visited are not part of the Fast Break Initiative, but the presentation on the footwear walls was more cohesive and we have observed stronger traffic in recent weeks,” she told Footwear News.
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WSS shuts down 52 stores
While Dick’s, which spent $2.5 billion buying Foot Locker and associated brands, seems committed to fixing its main sneaker chain, it has not shown the same commitment to the smaller WSS brand.
WSS focuses on discounted athletic and casual shoes, especially in urban markets. It’s known for carrying brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma at lower price points.
Dick’s has not discussed WSS during earnings calls since completing the Foot Locker acquisition.
It closed eight of the chain’s locations in Q4 and another 43 in Q1, bringing its total to 100, down from 151. In the second quarter, another location was shuttered, bringing the total to 99, according to the company’s August 10-Q SEC filing.
That’s a total drop of 52 stores since the fourth quarter of 2025.
Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser shared at the time Dick’s Sporting Good acquired Foot Locker that he expected the brand to leverage its acquisition for better inventory.
“Dick’s and Foot Locker combined will be able to use its heft to pressure its vendors for more of what it wants,” Poser told WWD.
He also suggested WSS may not be part of Dick’s long-term strategy.
In an Aug. 27, 2025 note, Poser wrote that Williams Trading “would not be surprised” if Dick’s chooses to sell WSS and shut down Champs, according to WWD.
Foot Locker bought WSS for a reason
When Foot Locker spent $750 million in 2021 to purchase WSS, it specifically cited the deal expanding its reach in two key ways.
“WSS is an athletic-inspired retailer focused on the large and rapidly growing Hispanic consumer demographic, operating a fleet of 93 off-mall stores in key markets across California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada,” according to an SEC filing.
The chain drove 80% of its sales through its loyalty program, and Foot Locker clearly felt the acquisition gave it access to a customer base it was not reaching.
“Through this transaction, Foot Locker will benefit from WSS’s differentiated market position and complementary customer base and real estate portfolio. WSS’s assortment of classic styles will further diversify Foot Locker’s product mix, enabling the company to serve a broader range of consumer needs across price points,” the chain shared.
That strategy fit Foot Locker’s expansion plans, but WSS appears less aligned with the premium-brand focus Dick’s has emphasized.
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