Foot Locker Invests $100 Million in Goat

Foot Locker and Goat are envisioning a very different sort of future: one where sneaker reselling isn’t contained to the clout corridor or Manhattan penthouses, but rather spread to every city where one of the mall brand’s 3,000 different locations are set up. At the moment, the new partners are tight lipped about what exactly they’ll do together, but it’s not hard to map out some different possibilities. Maybe Foot Locker stores will double as hubs for Goat, with kiosks where shoes can be dropped off, picked up, or authenticated. Maybe Goat’s rare, vacuum-sealed kicks will pop up, mixed in with Foot Locker’s collection of general release sneakers.

Foot Locker’s vision of the future isn’t that far off from how sneaker brands have operated over the past few decades: mass releases may fuel large chunks of the profit, but limited-edition, hyped-up shoes are what really captivates customers. Plus, tech companies, whether they want you to friend, tweet, snap, or sell and buy fire shoes, are all after the same thing: a super-engaged and passionate user. From another angle, Foot Locker’s partnership with Goat feels like a way for the retailer to Amazon-proof itself. In Amazon’s quest to sell everything, it’s felled corporations that, like Foot Locker, once seemed untouchable. Nike finally relented and started selling its shoes on Amazon in the summer of 2017. Adidas was already onboard. If all Foot Locker has are the same Huaraches, 270s, and Superstars as Amazon, it stands to suffer the same fate sooner rather than later.

Now, though, Foot Locker is investing in businesses that will give customers reasons to come into stores. The retailer recently put money into Pensole, a school run by a former Jordan Brand designer that teaches people how to make sneakers. But Foot Locker’s crown jewel is undoubtedly Goat. The $100 million investment is both the largest sum handed out by Foot Locker and in the secondary sneaker market in general. Ultimately, Foot Locker is betting on the core sneakerhead—the one who wants to make sneakers, or maybe just trade the rare ones already in existence. “At Foot Locker we are constantly looking at new ways to elevate our customer experience and bring sneaker and youth culture to people around the world,” Richard Johnson, Foot Locker’s chairman and CEO, said via a press release. Those customers existed long before these apps did, and will still be there once the luxury sneaker fad probably, inevitably passes.

The race to crown the supreme sneaker reseller is ramping up, and won’t end any time soon. But now, Foot Locker has the biggest ticket at the track—and it’s all-in on Goat.

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