Japanese footwear retailer Atmos has unveiled its plan to shut down all three of its North American stores and discontinue its online operations in the region. This strategic shift comes two years after Atmos was acquired by Foot Locker, signaling a renewed focus on the Asian and local Japanese markets.
Patrick Walsh, Atmos’ Senior Vice President and General Manager, elaborated on the decision: «The atmos brand possesses a distinctive and authentic identity, character, and spirit. Given atmos’s robust presence in Japan and Asia, we are committed to further investing in this key market. As part of our strategic simplification efforts, we have made the deliberate choice to close our three atmos stores in North America and cease operations on our atmos U.S. website. We are confident that this strategic move will empower atmos to continue serving our Asian customers by embracing and promoting sneaker and street culture.»
Established in 2000 in Harajuku, Tokyo, Atmos expanded its footprint with three U.S. stores located in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. It also operated a dedicated e-commerce platform for U.S. customers. In 2021, Foot Locker acquired Atmos for $360 million.
Foot Locker, in its most recent trading update, reported a 10.6% decline in half-year sales, amounting to $3.8 billion, while its net profit decreased to $31 million, compared to the previous year’s figure of $227 million.