Foot Locker exited South Korea just 4 years after entering

Foot Locker exited the South Korean market in the first half of 2025, closing its last store at COEX Mall on March 10, 2025. The American sneaker retailer had entered Korea only four years earlier, opening its first store near Hongdae in April 2021 during the height of the limited-edition sneaker collecting boom.

The retailer had recorded persistent operating losses throughout its Korean operations: ₩9 billion in 2021, ₩12.7 billion in 2022, and ₩11.5 billion in 2023, despite growing revenue from ₩16.5 billion to ₩45.1 billion over the same period. The Korean business never reached profitability.

The exit was part of a global simplification strategy announced by Foot Locker's US parent in August 2023, which also targeted Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Several factors contributed: the global economic downturn cooled the limited-edition sneaker collecting craze; new running brands like On Running and Hoka shifted from wholesale to direct-to-consumer sales, bypassing multi-brand retailers; and Foot Locker's heavy dependence on Nike (about 70% of global revenue) left it exposed as Nike itself pivoted toward DTC channels.

Foot Locker closed its Konkuk University and IFC Mall stores in December 2024, its online store in January 2025, and its final COEX Mall store on March 10, 2025. JD Sports, a UK competitor, had already exited Korea in 2023, followed by Japanese sneaker retailer Atmos in the same year.