Foot Locker’s Eastbay website is nearing its end, completing a merger of Champs Sports and Eastbay that began in 2019, according to a statement emailed to Retail Dive. The sporting goods retailer will “fully consolidate the Eastbay.com retail website into the Champs Sports banner," the company said. Eastbay will run until Jan. 13 after which customers will be redirected to the Champs Sports website, according to a company spokesperson.
Footwear News reported in December that the website would shut down at the end of December 2022. Currently, the Eastbay website is advertising 70% off, with all sales final, and an Eastbay Closing FAQ points retailers to Champs Sports to shop. The website states that orders expected to arrive after Dec. 30 will still be received. Some Eastbay-branded products are available for purchase on the Champs Sports website.
Eastbay was founded in 1980 and acquired by Foot Locker in 1997. The company’s e-commerce site launched in 1998.
The shutdown of Eastbay’s website marks the end of a long integration process. Foot Locker combined the corporate organizations of Champs Sports and Eastbay in 2020 and merged the two brands under a unified logo and a new name, Champs Sports x Eastbay, in 2021. The combined brand at the time said it would focus on the youth sports market and release joint experiences and offerings.
Foot Locker divested its team sales business, which sat under the Eastbay division, in June. The team sales business made up less than 1% of Foot Locker’s annual sales.
Moving forward, new CEO Mary Dillon — who joined the sporting goods retailer in September — is focused on simplifying the Foot Locker business. The executive in November said she is focused on building out Foot Locker’s omnichannel capabilities, improving the FLX loyalty program, upgrading its technology and optimizing costs. The retailer will also no longer expand into Japan and is winding down two of its European joint ventures.
