Footstar saw shares close lower for the week, erasing a strong mid-week gain on news that it will expand distribution of its Thom McAn product to up to 1,500 Wal-Mart stores. The move was initially seen as a boon to the retailer that has been hit hard in the last year by news that it will lose over 600 leased departments in Kmart as that discount retailer closes stores as part of its Chap. 11 plan.
The deal calls for Footstar to gain 1,500 stores for women’s shoes, men’s for 1,000 stores and kids shoes for 400 stores. It is not a leased department opportunity, but enables FTS to sell its product to those stores.
FTS shares had spiked on Wednesday, closing up over 24% to hit the $10 mark on volume that was eight times the average. FTS was down 2.7% for the week to close at $8.30 on Friday.
>>> Traders are also placing their bets that Nike will win the LeBron James bidding war. The move would mean big gains for both Footaction and Finish Line at the expense of Foot Locker. However, if adidas wins the deal
