Friday, September 27, 2024

Foot Locker chooses Florida over Montgomery County, Maryland for new corporate HQ


Montgomery County and the State of Maryland turned out to be flyover country for Foot Locker. CEO Mary Dillon announced that the sporting goods giant, currently located in New York City, has chosen St. Petersburg, Florida as the new location for its global corporate headquarters. This officially gives St. Petersburg more Fortune 500 headquarters than Montgomery County, while its population is barely a third of MoCo's. Foot Locker plans to make the move late next year, bringing 175 high-wage jobs to St. Petersburg.

Foot Locker is only the latest company to sail over Montgomery County and Maryland like Michael Jordan on its way to the basket. Montgomery County hasn't attracted a major corporate headquarters in over a quarter-century. It's just one reason why the County, like Maryland, has a moribund economy and structural budget deficit. Once again, we've been dunked on by a more business-friendly jurisdiction, and the losses are adding up on residents' annually-rising tax bills.

"Foot Locker's move represents a significant corporate relocation, and importantly, it's another example of impactful and inclusive economic development in our city and the Tampa Bay region," St. Petersburg Mayor Kenneth T. Welch said in a statement. "On the heels of the generational Historic Gas Plant District project approval, St. Pete has now attracted a Fortune 500 company that will create 150+ more jobs and further diversify our workforce."

"We are delighted to welcome Foot Locker, Inc. to Pinellas County," Pinellas County Economic Development Director Dr. Cynthia Johnson said. "The Fortune 500 company’s decision to relocate here is a testament to Pinellas County’s attractiveness as a business destination. Pinellas County is committed to supporting the company’s growth and ensuring it thrives in the community.”

Photo courtesy Foot Locker

11 comments:

  1. You really need to stop with these "news" articles. there is no evidence suggesting Foot Locker considered MoCo, so your "news" article is irrelevant. their old HQ is in NY.

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    1. Wait, are you saying Montgomery County and Maryland weren't even making an effort to win the Foot Locker headquarters? That would be even more embarrassing for our elected officials than merely having lost the competition, revealing their total incompetence.

      This is absolutely a newsworthy topic. Our County and State economies are both moribund, and have been for some time. Even Wes Moore and Marc Elrich have publicly stated this.

      Just because other media outlets give our elected officials a pass for not vigorously promoting our County and State as a potential location for HQs, and research and production facilities, doesn't mean it's not newsworthy. The purpose of journalism is to hold public officials accountable.

      It's common knowledge that Foot Locker's current HQ is in New York - what does that have to do with anything? They skipped way over us all the way south to Florida! So what's the point of mentioning they are in NY?

      We've got to be brutally honest in order to turn things around and restore our economy.

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    2. Do you know of any other jurisdiction that courted Footlocker in thier bid to relocate? .... Thought not.

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    3. I’m literally asking you to provide evidence that MoCo was involved in the bid. Your article does not mention this. Without that crucial piece of info, this news article is very much misleading

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    4. 5:58: And that is literally irrelevant to the newsworthiness and accuracy of the article. The list of jurisdictions is rarely ever made public. You know that. But the outcome is a failure either way - Either Montgomery County and/or Maryland were among the competitors for the HQ, or MoCo and MD officials didn't even make an attempt. In both cases, the article is accurate and holding our elected officials accountable for their failures.

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    5. 5:58 Reply is such a deflection. You can't truly answer the question factually, admit it.

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  2. Vote yes on Ballot Question A: “ Send Marc back to Takoma Park

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  3. Why do we need to attract business when we can just raise property taxes

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  4. Still waiting for an answer to @10:00 question......crickets.

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    1. 10:36: Which jurisdictions were under consideration is not public information. They are rarely identified unless a company chooses to do so, or if the national press uses internal anonymous sources during a high-profile HQ relocation search.

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    2. An office of may 50-100 employees in a company that is downsizing. Winning! NOT.

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