What Insiders Are Saying About Foot Locker’s Acquisitions of WSS and Atmos for $1.1 Billion

Foot Locker Inc. revealed a pair of blockbuster acquisitions this morning — spending $1.1 billion in cash to snap up retailers WSS and Atmos. Insiders are largely bullish on the deals, which will bolster Foot Locker’s footprint in geographic markets where it needs a stronger presence. However, that is not the only benefit of the transactions.  “They’re both really unusual companies that will complement the Foot Locker stable of brands,” said Matt Powell, senior sports industry adviser at The NPD Group Inc. Cowen Equity Research analysts agreed, and explained in a note today that the product benefits are just as important as the geographic ones.  “[WSS] customers have different product preferences when juxtaposed to FL’s current base, thus allowing Foot Locker to diversify its product mix across a broader range of price points and styles. Further, the addition of these West Coast locations enables FL to immediately ramp its presence in a geography that it is currently underpenetrated in, and the freestanding store model of WSS allows it to incrementally deleverage its exposure to malls,” the Cowen team wrote in today’s note.  Powell said WSS’s core consumer is also a big selling point. “WSS gives them an authentic voice in the Hispanic community. And there are

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