Foot Locker Launches Year-Round Basketball Campaign After Dick's Acquisition

Foot Locker Launches Year-Round Basketball Campaign After Dick’s Acquisition

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5.25.2026

Quick Facts

Foot Locker launched ‘Hoops Lives Here’ campaign in May 2026 with NBA and WNBA stars Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Payton Pritchard, and Jewell Loyd
New CMO Brett O’Brien joined from PepsiCo after Dick’s Sporting Goods completed its $6.23 billion acquisition in September 2025
The combined company now operates over 3,200 stores across 20 countries with projected revenues of $17 billion

Foot Locker unveiled its new year-round basketball platform ‘Hoops Lives Here’ in May 2026, marking the retailer’s first major campaign since Dick’s Sporting Goods completed its acquisition. The initiative features NBA and WNBA stars in a multi-platform strategy designed to capitalize on basketball culture beyond traditional seasonal peaks.

Brett O’Brien, who joined as chief marketing officer from PepsiCo where he spent 25 years, leads the new direction. ‘Basketball is more than a sport, it’s a culture, identity, and a way of life,’ O’Brien said. ‘With Hoops Lives Here, we wanted to capture the emotional connection of living and breathing the game in a way that only Foot Locker can.’

The campaign spans NBA broadcasts, social platforms including Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit and Snapchat, plus e-commerce and in-store experiences. Created with agency Someplace, the creative shows athletes living inside Foot Locker stores as if they were homes.

Dick’s Sporting Goods completed its Foot Locker acquisition in September 2025, creating a sporting goods giant with over 3,200 stores. The acquisition contributed $2.18 billion to Dick’s fourth-quarter 2026 sales, which surged 59.9% year-over-year to $6.23 billion, though the Foot Locker segment reported operating losses during integration.

O’Brien emphasized the retailer’s focus on women’s basketball growth. ‘When you look at people like A’ja Wilson and the Sabrina shoes, and what’s going to come out later this year with Caitlin Clark, these are sneakers that are being sold to both men and women in equal parts,’ he said.

The company plans to remodel 250 US stores across Foot Locker, Champs Sports, Kids Foot Locker, WSS and Atmos locations before the 2026 back-to-school season. Management expects this period to serve as an ‘inflection point’ for the business, with projected growth and comparable sales of 1% to 3% and operating income between $100 million to $150 million for 2026.

Dick’s intends to reduce Foot Locker’s historical dependence on high-demand product releases and develop broader assortment, including reinvestment in kids’ basketball footwear. The strategy reflects basketball’s position at ‘one of the most powerful intersections of sport, style and culture,’ according to O’Brien.