If you’ve visited a shopping mall in this country, surely you’ve seen a Foot Locker. It was an icon of sneaker sales for years, with thousands of stores nationwide. But then sneakers became more than just something to wear to the gym.
They’ve evolved into “a marker of identity, status and a form of self-expression to young people,” according to Elizabeth Segran, senior staff writer for Fast Company, who recently wrote about Foot Locker. The young people she’s talking about, often called “sneaker heads,” collect rare and vintage sneakers, fueling an underground sneaker market.
Foot Locker has a new plan to attract that customer and insulate itself from the decline of the American mall in general. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Segran about her reporting on the company’s latest strategy.
Click the audio player above to hear the interview.
If you’re a member of your local public radio station, we thank you — because your support helps those stations keep programs like Marketplace on the air. But for Marketplace to continue to grow, we need additional investment from those who care most about what we do: superfans like you.
Your donation — as little as $5 — helps us create more content that matters to you and your community, and to reach more people where they are – whether that’s radio, podcasts or online.
When you contribute directly to Marketplace, you become a partner in that mission: someone who understands that when we all get smarter, everybody wins.
