Champs Sports

Champs Sports is an American sports retail store, it operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker. Products sold at Champs Sports include apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories. As of January 2015, there were 547 store locations found throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The stores are mainly located in shopping malls, and are 3,500 square feet (330 m²) on average.

History

Early years

Champs Sports was acquired in the 1980s by the Woolworth Corporation, then a specialty store division of the F. W. Woolworth Company. It, along with Foot Locker, sold athletic merchandise, replacing the five and dime and department store concepts with the increasing specialty store concept.

In 1997, the Woolworth Corporation acquired the mail-order catalogue athletic retailer Eastbay for approximately 146 million dollars.

A few months later, on July 17, 1997, the F. W. Woolworth Company closed their remaining department stores. The surviving Woolworth Corporation changed its name to Venator Group, Inc., while continuing its focus on the specialty store idea.