Well-known sportswear company Eastbay is closing its doors next year. The Wausau, Wisconsin-based firm, founded in 1980, has been a staple in athletic apparel and footwear.
According to Hypebeast, Eastbay can no longer compete with big box retailers and boutiques.
After shifting from print to digital in the 2010s, Eastbay could sustain business given the immense public interest in its merchandise.
However, with larger retailers taking over the sportswear landscape in recent years, Eastbay hasn’t been able to keep up, resulting in its imminent closure.
Foot Locker, the brand’s parent company, said this decision is “a result of efforts to optimize distribution processes in order to serve their nationwide customers more efficiently and effectively” in a statement.
Eastbay’s closure will result in more than 200 employee layoffs, and the news left millennial fans torn up over lost childhoods after hearing of the company’s closing.
Me hearing Eastbay closing at the end of the month is me realizing my childhood really dead pic.twitter.com/VMKxnPOtp2
— Sonof Mosta (@Sonof_Mosta) December 27, 2022
Me not having made an Eastbay purchase since 1995 being shocked that they are closing pic.twitter.com/iOLCyBTY8n
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) December 27, 2022
Eastbay is really closing 🥲….raised a generation of sneaker heads…what an era
— Jonathan Marshall (@Jon_Marshall3) December 27, 2022
RIP Eastbay pic.twitter.com/nDurKM1eph
— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) December 27, 2022
This. Is. Sad….another part of my childhood gone 😭😭😭😭
Rest Easy, #EastBay pic.twitter.com/cGhxjoBGYw— El$leepy Flo¥d™ VALLEJO’FIED ☕️Face Of Dubnation (@ElSleepyFloyd) December 27, 2022