Analysts expected Foot Locker Inc. to deliver same store sales in the neighborhood of 4.5% for the final quarter of 2018 when the shoe retailer released its earnings report a few weeks ago. Four-and-a-half percent growth is impressive in anyone’s book, but Foot Locker did the analysts one better when it reported 9.7% comps. It was a solid year all around, as the company also reported record revenue of $7.9B for 2018.

Not looking to rest on 2018’s success, between the time the company recorded those sales and its earnings announcement made them public, Foot Locker made a couple of significant forward-looking investments. In early February, it invested $100M in high-end sneaker reseller Goat Group, which will bring digital and instore synergies and provide Foot Locker with access Goat Group’s digital expertise. Last week, the company followed that with an announcement that it’s investing $12.5B in Rockets of Awesome, a children’s apparel retailer.

The news isn’t all good, though, as the retailer announced that it plans to close 165 underperforming stores internationally with the majority being US Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker stores.

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