Today In Retail: Foot Locker Acquisitions To Fuel Expansion Plans; L Brands Divorce Becomes Official

In today’s top retail news, Foot Locker is shelling out $1.1 billion to acquire two smaller footwear retailers as it looks to grow beyond malls, while Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works are setting off on their own as independent public companies. Also, Square’s planned acquisition of Afterpay could broaden the buy now, pay later (BNPL) ecosystem for smaller merchants, and a Rent-A-Center subsidiary unveils a new digital platform.

Foot Locker to Buy Two Smaller Retailers to Accelerate Growth

Athletic footwear and apparel retailer Foot Locker is planning to acquire two smaller footwear retailers for a combined $1.1 billion as the company looks to grow beyond malls and accelerate its digital strategy. The New York-based company plans to purchase Japanese sneaker and streetwear retailer Atmos for $360 million, which will expand Foot Locker’s global reach, as well as California-based athletic retailer WSS for $750 million.

Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works Chart Separate Paths on Similar Trends

As of today, L Brands is no more, with the company’s two remaining brands — Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret — now charting their own paths as independent public companies. Victoria’s Secret, trading as VSCO, has undergone a substantial relaunch of the brand to focus more on women’s self-expression. And Bath & Body Works, trading as BBWI, aims to capitalize on consumers’ post-pandemic attention on beauty and wellness.

Square, Afterpay Deal Signals Smaller Merchants Will Pivot to BNPL

Square has said it will buy Australian BNPL firm Afterpay in an all-stock deal that carries that $29 billion purchase price, an international move that broadens the BNPL ecosystem for small and medium-sized businesses. Afterpay is currently used by 100,000 merchants and has more than 16.2 million customers. Square, for its part, noted in its second-quarter results that software and integrated payments have been the fastest-growing products in the seller ecosystem.

Rent-A-Center’s Acima Unveils Digital Retail Leasing Platform

Acima, the virtual lease-to-own (LTO) FinTech arm of Rent-A-Center, has rolled out a digital platform focused on improving the retail leasing experience, including a new mobile app, an online shopping platform and a browser extension. The Acima mobile app will allow customers to apply for a new lease, find retail stores near them, access the Acima Marketplace, manage their accounts and check for promotions on the items they want. Rent-A-Center closed on its purchase of Acima Holdings in February.