Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) is an American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in New York City, and operating in approximately 20 countries worldwide. Formerly known as Venator Group, Inc., it is the successor corporation to the F.W. Woolworth Company (“Woolworth’s”). Foot Locker, Inc. operates the eponymous “Foot Locker” chain of athletic footwear retail outlets (along with “Kids Foot Locker” and “Lady Foot Locker” stores), Champs Sports, Footaction USA, and Eastbay/Footlocker.com own the rights to Final Score, ESPN Shop, AFL Store, and The United States Olympic Shop. The chain is known for its employees uniforms resembling those of referees.

In 1963, Woolworth purchased the Kinney Shoe Corporation and operated it as a subsidiary. In the 1960s, Kinney branched into specialty shoe stores, including Stylco in 1967, Susie Casuals in 1968, and Foot Locker in 1974.

Woolworth also diversified its portfolio of specialty stores in the 1980s, including Afterthoughts, Northern Reflections, and Champs Sports. By 1989, the company was pursuing an aggressive strategy of multiple specialty store formats targeted at enclosed shopping malls. The idea was that if a particular concept failed at a given mall, the company could quickly replace it with a different concept. The company aimed for 10 stores in each of the country's major shopping malls, but this never came to pass as Woolworth never developed that many successful specialty store formats.

In 1988, the F.W. Woolworth Company incorporated a separate company called the "Woolworth Corporation" in the state of New York. The Woolworth Corporation was responsible for the operations of the Foot Locker stores, among the other specialty chains operated by Woolworth's. One of its first moves was the acquisition of Champs Sports and renamed itself the Woolworth Athletic Group.

Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) is a chain of American off-price department stores. It is the nation's third largest off-price retailer (behind T.J. Maxx and Marshalls) with fiscal 2005 revenues of $4.9 billion. As of January, 2009, the company operated 904 Ross stores in 27 U.S. states and Guam, covering most of the country except for New England, Alaska, and a large area of the Midwest.

Ross offers brand name clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, fine jewelry, beauty products, and housewares. All merchandise is 20 - 60% below regular department and specialty store prices.

Ross Department Store was first opened in San Bruno, California, in 1957 by Adali Baer. The next store was established in Pacifica, California, in the late 1950s. The format of Ross was changed to an off-price department store in 1982.

Ross also operates the dd's Discounts chain of clothing and furniture stores, designed to cater to lower-income consumers with prices below those of the main Ross stores. Ross and dd's Discounts stores often operate side by side in space formerly used by a large box store such as a grocery store and then subdivided. While a part of the same company, both stores operate completely independently and carry different merchandise assortments.