Foot Locker on Tuesday announced the opening of its new headquarters for employees in the regions of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands.
The shoe retailer said in a release that it relocated from its prior EMEA headquarters in Vianen, another city in the Netherlands, “to eliminate commuter challenges for Foot Locker EMEA team members” and to provide a “more creative and collaborative environment.” The new office location is located in Creative Valley, an office collective in the Utrecht’s city center region near the city’s Central Station.
All of Foot Locker’s 365 corporate employees in EMEA will move to the new location, Foot Locker said.
“This move is a significant milestone for Foot Locker EMEA,” Foot Locker said in a release. “Given our positioning at the heart of sneaker culture, we are committed to creating an inclusive workplace culture that celebrates our shared passions and encourages teamwork, creativity, and innovation in all that we do.”
The retailer operates nearly 2,500 stores in 26 countries around the globe. In the Middle East and Asia, Foot Locker operates a franchised store model.
Foot Locker last month updated its timelines for its Lace-Up plan, revealed in March 2023. The strategy included a plan to grow Foot Locker’s business to more than $9.5 billion in annual revenue by 2026 by diversifying its brand portfolio, relaunching the Foot Locker brand with new store formats focused on an off-mall presence, maximizing its loyalty program and investing in technology to enhance the customer journey. Now, Foot Locker expects these results to come to fruition two years later — in 2028.
Foot Locker chief executive officer Mary Dillon said in a conference call that the impacts of inflation, higher rents and higher interest rates had a stronger impact on consumers than expected, which caused the company to push back its target for the Lace Up plan.