US firm seeks Irish foothold

THE American sports retailer Foot Locker plans to take on Lifestyle and Champion Sports in their home market by opening up Irish stores later this year.

The company, America's largest seller of sports shoes, said it will expand in Ireland this year as part of a further push into Europe.

Although it did not say how many outlets it will open overall, one will be opened later this year.

Foot Locker is entering a highly competitive sports market, with Champion which also owns the Marathon Sports brand and Lifestyle Sports the largest retailer in the country. A number of British chains, including John David Sports and JJB Sports, have opened up here in the past couple of years.

Foot Locker yesterday raised its profit forecast for the fourth quarter, citing strong sales trends.

Earnings from continuing operations will range from 41 cents to 45 cents a share for the quarter ending February, the company said in a statement.

Previously, the company had forecast profit would exceed 37 cents a share.

The New York-based company also said it expects sales at stores open at least a year, or same-store sales, to rise from 4% to 6% for the fourth quarter, driven by better performance at stores in the United States and Europe.

Foot Locker has 3,600 shops worldwide, most of which are in the US.