Venator closing
From staff and wire reports
all Kinney
shoe storesNEW YORK -- Venator Group Inc. said it will close 570 Kinney and Footquarters stores and lay off some of the 4,600 workers at the chains, as it drops dress and casual shoes to focus on selling sneakers and sports apparel.
Venator, formerly Woolworth Corp., said it will take a third-quarter charge of $173 million, or $1.28 a diluted share, as it closes 467 Kinney and 103 Footquarters stores by year end. The New York-based company also said it plans to convert about 60 stores to Lady Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker and Colorado stores, some of its sporting-goods chains.
In Hawaii, the move affects the Kinney store at Pearlridge Center. Marty Lastner, the center's general manager, said he has not received any word on when the store would close. The Pearlridge store is 4,000 square feet and has been open for 12 years. A local store manager had no comment on the closing and there was no word on how many employees would be laid off locally.
Venator's move is the latest in a series of sweeping restructuring moves led by Chairman Roger Farah that have transformed the 119-year-old company, renowned for its dime-store chain F.W. Woolworth, into a sporting goods retailer. Venator said its mainstream shoe business simply wasn't profitable.
"After taking a hard look at the long-term viability of the (shoe) business, it became clear that these businesses would not be able to return to profitability in the near future," Farah said in a statement.
Venator said it will try to relocate some of the Kinney and Footquarters employees, which include 3,200 full-timers and 1,400 part-timers, and will give severance pay and job-search help to others who are fired.
Though sneaker sales have been weak lately, the business is still growing at a faster rate than other shoe lines. Analysts said the company couldn't wait for the sneaker industry to rebound before making such a move.
"The shoe business is tremendously over-stored," said Standard & Poor's Equity Group analyst Karen Sack, who has a "neutral" rating on Venator shares. "This is a good move."
Venator will introduce an athletic-product outlet chain, combining 75 Footquarters, Foot Locker and Champs Sports outlets.
Bloomberg News and Star-Bulletin reporter
Jerry Tune contributed to this report.
