Foot Locker 2006 Annual Report Download - page 8

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STORE OPERATIONS
6
For more than 30 years, Foot Locker has been the pre-
mier athletic footwear and apparel specialty retailer in
the world. The Company’s fl agship division, Foot Locker,
offers a wide selection of the latest styles of athletic
footwear and apparel to its target customer, a 12-to-
24 year old male infl uenced by competitive sports and
urban trends. At year-end, Foot Locker operated a total
of 2,101 stores in 20 countries, with 1,368 stores located
in the United States, 509 stores in Europe, 132 stores in
Canada and 92 stores in the Asia/Pacifi c region. The
average size of these stores is 3,600 gross square feet.
A key benefi t to operating a successful global business
is employing local management teams around the world
that have a sound understanding of their specifi c markets,
including knowledge of current fashion trends, the com-
petitive environment and operating dynamics. Through
the sharing of information across all divisions of the
Company, Foot Locker is able to react quickly to develop-
ing fashion trends. Recently, for example, product and
fashion insights from Foot Locker Europe enabled the
Company’s North American divisions to anticipate devel-
oping trends that might infl uence the American customer
base. Thus, the Company increased its quantities of the
fashion forward “low-profi le” European styles in North
American stores ahead of the competition.
Given Foot Locker’s success in penetrating the global
marketplace, the Company continues to pursue oppor-
tunities for further growth actively, both in the U.S. and in
international markets. Foot Locker remains excited about
its longer-term growth opportunities in Europe, but it
has temporarily slowed its store openings to allow local
management to focus on its existing store base.
In 2006, through an agreement with a third-party fran-
chisee, three Foot Locker franchised stores were opened
in the Middle East. Over the next several years, the Com-
pany expects that 75 Foot Locker franchised stores will be
operating in this region. Additional franchised operations
may be pursued over time.
Foot Locker’s success over many years includes operating
profi tability in various regions around the world.
Over the years, Foot Locker, Inc. has
always taken great pride in provid-
ing best-in-class customer service in
the specialty retail industry. Each of
the Company’s stores is designed to
provide an in-depth array of trend-
right products in an attractive sales
environment that refl ects the lifestyle
of its target customer. Paramount
to its success is the experience and
knowledge of its sales associates,
who are specifi cally trained to offer
one-on-one customer service. Sup-
porting the Company’s sales staff
with up-to-date technology is an-
other key priority to help ensure that
the customer’s needs are fulfi lled.