Champs Sports Rides Experiential Wave

Foot Locker’s Champs Sports unveiled its new retail concept, Champs Sports Homefield — which at more than 35,000 square feet is the largest Foot Locker location ever. 

Coined a “true home for the modern athlete,” the store in Pembroke Pines, Florida, will offer experiences, performance and lifestyle products, and services catered to athletes’ lives. 

• Full-sized basketball and multi-sport court
• Champs Sports Combine digital VR system
• Nutritional and recovery products
• Apparel, sneakers, and equipment for various sports and activities
• Try-on treadmill for running shoes

Champs Sports Homefield arrives after Foot Locker reported a record earnings year with a net income of $893 million. The company’s earnings per share increased 91.3% from 2019. As of Jan. 29, 2022, Champs had 525 open stores — Foot Locker merged the Champs and Eastbay brands in November.

Retail Revolution

Champs isn’t the first retail store to provide experiences to its consumers. 

Last year, Dick’s Sporting Goods opened its first House of Sport location in Victor, New York, a 100,000-square-foot store that includes an indoor rock-climbing wall, golf driving bay, putting bay, and health and wellness store. Shortly after, a second location opened in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Other brands with similar concepts include Lululemon, YETI, Vans, and Tonal, which added stations to at least 40 Nordstrom locations last year.