Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi, Julie Hyman, and Myles Udland recap Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson's comments on back-to-school shopping, and discuss their favorite shopping trends as the season picks up.

Video Transcript

MYLES UDLAND: It does seem like be back to school season for school year 2021-2022 will be in full swing, Brian Sozzi, by the time we get into July and into August. I know you talked to Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson yesterday about how that company, among other retailers that we've really seen enjoy a nice boost here through the spring, how they're thinking about the first normal back to school boom they've seen in two years.

BRIAN SOZZI: Yeah, Myles, let's keep in mind, there was no back to school last year, unless you wanted to buy your children, I guess, a new pair of jogger pants and some socks. But I caught up with Foot Locker CEO Richard Johnson to talk about his outlook for the back half of the year, which for them is not only the holiday season, it's back to school. And back to school traditionally has started in early August for the likes of a Foot Locker and many specialty apparel retailers. Here's what Johnson told Yahoo Finance.

RICHARD JOHNSON: You know, last year was sort of an abridged season with some kids going back to school, some kids in a hybrid learn from home sort of situation. We see the economy truly starting to open up. Will it be July 4? Will it be closer to back to school in the fall? Not sure. But again, our consumer loves the fresh kicks, right? They want the coolest product that they can possibly get. Our vendor partners continue to bring that to market, and we're going to serve our customers, whether that's digitally or in our stores.

BRIAN SOZZI: And Myles and Julie, it amazes me to see Foot Locker shares trading at essentially 12 times forward earnings. You have Richard Johnson essentially telling us, hey, guys, you're going to see likely a sneaker buying boom for the back to school season. Oh, yeah, in addition to that, potential big top line driver, we also recently announced we're closing our Footaction stores. So hundreds of stores are going to go away. They're going to save a lot on costs. You have that. You have those two potential catalysts for the business later this year, and it just mystifies me to see this stock trading about what, about half the multiple of the broader market. It makes no sense to me.

JULIE HYMAN: I mean, also when you're talking about kid shoes in particular, there's now what's become this sort of conventional wisdom or an old saw that we lost the last year. As part of that, as a parent with rapidly growing children, like they've grown into different sizes without you sort of realizing it. Even more so than usual because the last year has been so strange.

So to buy a shoe online when you need your kids, I mean, you can measure them at home, it's doable. But it's easier to go into a store and have somebody do it and have them try on the shoes that are going to be comfortable. So I think that's going to advantage, one would think, that would advantage the likes of a Foot Locker over say a Zappos. But we'll see what happens on that front. I always like trying on shoes in person myself. So maybe I'm just projecting.

BRIAN SOZZI: Julie, what type of sneakers do your kids like? And I ask that, Foot Locker is calling out strength in Crocs. And this story, the comeback story that is Crocs, it continues in a big way.

JULIE HYMAN: I mean, listen, my kids have been Crocs kids since they were little because they're easy to put on and run around in. My older guy plays basketball. He's a Kyrie guy, so we'll see if that continues as he gets older. I mean, Myles Udland's a little bit of a sneaker head too. I don't know what he's wearing these days.

MYLES UDLAND: Well, I feel like, I kind of feel like a Boomer now with my sneakers, because most of my sneakers are Nikes. And I don't think Nike is particularly cool. I mean, I'm not wearing white Air Force Ones. I have a pair of the [? Adidas Boost, ?] which are kind of the most comfortable sneakers that I found. But they're just like, you know, young dad sneakers. They're not particularly.

JULIE HYMAN: Nikes are still cool. What's cool now if not Nikes? I don't know. What's the next thing?

MYLES UDLAND: I don't know. Like, when I'm out like, I have an old pair of, like I have a pair of Jordan 1s, I have Jordan 4s, I have a pair of the 270s, I have like old Prestos from 2015 or '16. When I'm wearing them in public, I just feel like I feel dated wearing shoes that when I bought them, you know, '16, '17, '18 I thought were so cool, maybe it's just being in the burbs now versus being in the city. Maybe I never realized how uncool it was in the first place, not that I've ever been a particularly cool person. But it just feels really dated to be wearing Nike shoes that have like, they have like different color. Like they have texture. They're not like neon. It's like, you know, blues with whites and maybe a red. Or you know, one of them's all black. It's like, it just feels really dates.

JULIE HYMAN: Well, you don't want to look like you're trying too hard either, Myles, right?

MYLES UDLAND: Well, and I'm certainly, I certainly appear that way, I'm sure, you know, to most people most of the time. So you know, so what are you going to do?

BRIAN SOZZI: You know where, you know where there's inflation right now? I just spent $200 on a pair of Nike golf shoes. I don't remember golf shoes being that much. I'm really unclear on what I even bought. They just looked nice online.

MYLES UDLAND: The golf shoes I wear, Soz, are $120. They're Nikes. They're Roshe Pro, they're great. I don't know what you were buying. I've never felt the need to spend that much on golf shoes. But just finally before we got off track here, Soz, thinking about Foot Locker though, I mean, five years ago the problem with the store was it was mall-based. I know they're closing their Footaction stores, but that's still, that overhang is still on the stock. And you talked about the multiple trading at a discount to the overall market. I mean, the mall thesis hasn't just disappeared during COVID.

BRIAN SOZZI: And it's not just Foot Locker or Footaction being closed down, Myles. You know, Foot Locker I think doesn't get enough credit for the active pruning of their portfolio. Sure, they operate thousands of stores around the world, but in many respects, those stores are profitable, they're making money, and they're in some of the best locations. So I think over the next three to five years, you're going to see a vastly different Foot Locker. They have hundreds of leases up for expiry, and I would be wouldn't be surprised if they moved to close a lot of these stores down and just look to cut some costs.

MYLES UDLAND: All right, there you go. Everyone loves talking about what's on their feet. Of course, I haven't I haven't done this show wearing shoes in about 15 months, and I don't know when the next time will be. So that'll be our next indicator on when it's time to refresh the closet on that front.