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Is Foot Locker Giving the Boot to Malls?

Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) announced Monday it plans to pay $1.1 billion in two separate deals for a pair of shoe retailers that march to a different tune than the retail giant's longstanding but perhaps slowly fading reliance on enclosed shopping malls.In one announcement, the New York-based retailer said it plans to pay $360 million for Text Trading Company, which operates 49 stores -- including 39 in Japan and a handful around the United States -- under the atmos brand. In the other, Foot Locker says it will pay $750 million for Eurostar Inc., which operates 93 stores -- primarily on the West Coast – under the WSS brand, an acquisition that gives it access to a large and growing base of Latino consumers, The Wall Street Journal said today. Foot Locker -- which said it will buy the companies using available cash -- already has about 3,000 stores in 27 countries under brands that include Foot Locker, Kids Foot Locker, Eastbay, Footaction, and Sidestep.