Foot Locker 2002 Annual Report Download - page 14

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OUR EUROPEAN PRESENCE
The European athletic fo o twear and apparel market is an
impo rtant so urce o f sales and profits fo r Fo o t Lo c ker, Inc.
Sales per g ro ss square fo o t and o perating profit margins are
approximately do uble tho se of the Co mpany’s Fo o t Lo cker
sto res in the United States. While the c o mbined po pulatio n
and to tal GDP of this market rivals that o f the United
States, the per capita consumption of athletic fo o twear is
less than o ne-half, presenting oppo rtunities fo r significant
future gro wth fo r Fo o t Lo cker.
Fo o t Lo cker was intro duced to Europe in 1980, when its
first sto re was o pened in the United Kingdo m. Expansio n of
this business was initiated in 1988 thro ug h the acquisition
of a 14- sto re specialty athletic fo o twear chain o perating in
the Netherlands and Belgium. Sinc e that time, Europe has
been a significant so urce of gro wth fo r the Co mpany.
To day, Euro pe is the largest internatio nal market in which
the Co mpany o perates sto res. Fo o t Lo cker is o ne of the
largest athletic retailers and the o ne with the largest pres-
ence, operating sto res in many co untries acro ss this regio n.
The business is managed fro m the Netherlands, incorpo rating
a shared service approach, inc luding its headquarters office
and 250,000 square foot state- of- the- art distributio n center.
Fo o t Lo cker’s Euro pean expansio n continued during 2002.
The Co mpany o pened 57 additio nal sto res and ended the
year with 377 in 11 countries. Fo o t Lo cker’s comparable-
sto re sales were stro ng thro ug ho ut the year as the Co mpany
co ntinued to provide its custo mers with an appropriate mix
of fashion and technic al athletic fo o twear and apparel.
The Co mpany’s infrastructure, including its management
structure and distribution center, is well po sitio ned to sup-
po rt the Co mpany’s growth plans in Euro pe. Current plans
call fo r adding at least 300 additio nal sto res in Euro pe over
the next several years. Expansio n will also be explo red in
neighbo ring c o untries where the Co mpany do es no t current-
ly have a presence.
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