3 Companies Owned by Foot Locker

Global presence for online and in-store apparel and footwear

Reviewed by Somer Anderson

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) is a sneaker and athletics apparel retailer with about 2,500 locations worldwide. The first Foot Locker retail location opened in California in 1974. The company is the remaining operating entity of the F.W. Woolworth Company, founded in 1879. In the mid-20th century, Woolworths bought G.R. Kinney, a shoemaker that owned the Foot Locker brand. As Woolworths saw its flagship stores decline, the company changed its name, eventually becoming Foot Locker Inc. in 2001.

Foot Locker operates numerous subsidiaries and brand names, including Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Champs Sports, atmos, and WSS. In 2023, the company generated nearly $8.2 billion in sales and boasted a market cap of about $1.95 billion as of January 2025.

WSS

• Type of Business: Retail Footwear and Apparel
• Acquisition Price: $750 million
• Date of Purchase: September 20, 2021
• Revenue: $640 million in 2023

WSS is best known for its neighborhood-based store presence and deep connection within Latino communities. Foot Locker finalized its acquisition of WSS, a West Coast presence, in 2021. In 2023, Foot Locker appointed Blanca Gonzalez as Senior Vice President and General Manager of WSS.

atmos

• Type of Business: Digital Global Footwear Retailer
• Acquisition Price: $360 million
• Date of Purchase: November 1, 2021
• Revenue: $31.5 million in 2023

In 2021, Foot Locker acquired atmos, a digitally-led, global retailer headquartered in Japan. The purchase price was $360 million. Atmos expanded Foot Locker’s global reach in the Asia-Pacific market, with a presence in Japan.

GOAT Group

• Type of Business: Secondary Sneaker Marketplace
• Acquisition Price: $100 million minority investment
• Date of Investment: February 7, 2019

GOAT is a managed secondary marketplace for sneakers under the GOAT and Flight Club brands. Foot Locker made a “strategic minority investment” in GOAT rather than buying the company outright. As a secondary sneaker marketplace, GOAT allows Foot Locker access to a new niche market in e-commerce.