Description
Champs Sports is an American sports retail store, it operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker. Products sold at Champs Sports include apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories. As of June 2019, there were 540 store locations found throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The stores are mainly located in shopping malls, and are 3,500 square feet (330 m2) on average.
History
Early years
Champs Sports was acquired in the 1980s by the Woolworth Corporation, then a specialty store division of the F. W. Woolworth Company. It, along with Foot Locker (which was owned by Woolworth and is now the name of the company that succeeded Woolworth), sold athletic merchandise, replacing the five and dime and department store concepts with the increasing specialty store concept.
In 1997, the Woolworth Corporation acquired the mail-order catalogue athletic retailer Eastbay for approximately 146 million dollars.
A few months later, on July 17, 1997, the F. W. Woolworth Company closed their remaining department stores. The surviving Woolworth Corporation changed its name to Venator Group, Inc., while continuing its focus on the specialty store idea.
21st Century
In 2000, after a decline in the market of sports apparel, Venator Group shuttered many of their stores, including 27 Champs Sports locations. This proved successful as high-end footwear grew in popularity.
