Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) sells more athletic shoes than any other retailer in the U.S. The company offers athletic footwear and clothes in nearly 4,000 stores across North America, Europe and Asia through its eponymous Foot Locker locations, which even have specialized stores just for women and kids, as well as FootAction and Champs Sports.^[1] In 2008, Foot Locker generated $5.24 billion in total revenue, a 3.7% decrease in sales from 2007.^[2] Despite the decline in sales, Foot Locker remains far ahead of second place U.S. footwear retailer Finish Line by revenue, which reported $1.26 billion in 2008 sales.^[3] Foot Locker's struggles have continued in 2009 as same-store sales, a key gauge of retail performance, fell 12% in second quarter 2009.^{[4] [5]} For the entire fiscal year 2009, Foot Locker made $4.85 billion, down from $5,24 billion the year before, while its net income was $48 million, up from $-80 million the year before.^[6]

In the third quarter of fiscal 2010, Foot Locker reported a net income of $52 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $6 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2009. Sales for the third quarter of 2010 were $1.28 billion, compared to $1.21 billion for the third quarter of 2009. Foot Locker's strong third quarter was attributed to a combination of strong comparable-store sales growth and gross margin rate expansion.^[7]

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