Foot Locker Inc.s consumer direct unit, Footlocker.com, has inked an agreement with ESPN.com to run ESPN Shop, an ESPN-branded direct mail catalog and e-commerce site. Both the catalog and the E-commerce site feature a variety of ESPN-branded and non-ESPN-branded athletically-inspired merchandise. The first ESPN Shop catalog started shipping to fans last week.
“We are very pleased to have established this agreement with ESPN, a well-known name in the sports industry, said Dick Johnson, president and CEO of Footlocker.com. “This alliance is in line with our plan to increase sales and profits by leveraging our athletic industry-leading position in the direct-to-customers business.”
In other news at Foot Locker, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians said last week in published reports that is had reached a settlement with Foot Locker Inc. on behalf of a former employee who said he was harassed by supervisors and co-workers.
Under the agreement, which was not published, Foot Locker will reportedly train its managers and employees on harassment issues as well as support and services for workers who feel they have been harassed.
The report also said that Foot Locker will also provide a “monetary settlement to former employee Kevin Dunbar”, according to New York-based Lambda Legal. The AP said that Dunbar worked for two different Foot Locker stores in Columbia, SC for four months in mid-2002. He was reportedly transferred after complaining to managers that co-workers were calling him derogatory names in front of customers. In July 2002, Dunbar reportedly wrote a formal complaint, which company policy says must be kept confidential, but Dunbar’s manager allegedly called the district manager and read the complaint in front of customers and Dunbar’s co-workers, according to Dubars attorneys.
