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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Jan. 28, 2012

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Foot Locker, Inc. and its domestic and international subsidiaries (the “Company”), all of which are wholly owned. All significant intercompany amounts have been eliminated. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results may differ from those estimates.

Reporting Year

The reporting period for the Company is the Saturday closest to the last day in January. Fiscal years 2011, 2010, and 2009 represent the 52 week periods ending January 28, 2012, January 29, 2011, and January 30, 2010, respectively. References to years in this annual report relate to fiscal years rather than calendar years.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue from retail stores is recognized at the point of sale when the product is delivered to customers. Internet and catalog sales revenue is recognized upon estimated receipt by the customer. Sales include shipping and handling fees for all periods presented. Sales include merchandise, net of returns, and exclude taxes. The Company provides for estimated returns based on return history and sales levels. Revenue from layaway sales is recognized when the customer receives the product, rather than when the initial deposit is paid.

Gift Cards

The Company sells gift cards to its customers, which do not have expiration dates. Revenue from gift card sales is recorded when the gift cards are redeemed or when the likelihood of the gift card being redeemed by the customer is remote and there is no legal obligation to remit the value of unredeemed gift cards to the relevant jurisdictions, referred to as breakage. The Company has determined its gift card breakage rate based upon historical redemption patterns. Historical experience indicates that after 12 months the likelihood of redemption is deemed to be remote. Gift card breakage income is included in selling, general and administrative expenses and totaled $4 million, $2 million, and $4 million in 2011, 2010, and 2009, respectively. Unredeemed gift cards are recorded as a current liability.

Statement of Cash Flows

The Company has selected to present the operations of the discontinued businesses as one line in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. For all the periods presented this caption includes only operating activities.

Store Pre-Opening and Closing Costs

Store pre-opening costs are charged to expense as incurred. In the event a store is closed before its lease has expired, the estimated post-closing lease exit costs, less the sublease rental income, is provided for once the store ceases to be used.

Advertising Costs and Sales Promotion

Advertising and sales promotion costs are expensed at the time the advertising or promotion takes place, net of reimbursements for cooperative advertising. Advertising expenses also include advertising costs as required by some of the Company’s mall-based leases. Cooperative advertising reimbursements earned for the launch and promotion of certain products agreed upon with vendors is recorded in the same period as the associated expenses are incurred.

Reimbursement received in excess of expenses incurred related to specific, incremental, and identifiable advertising costs, is accounted for as a reduction to the cost of merchandise, which is reflected in cost of sales as the merchandise is sold.

Advertising costs, which are included as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses, were as follows:


	2011			2010			2009
	(in millions)
Advertising expenses	$	121		$	97		$	94
Cooperative advertising reimbursements		(22	)		(23	)		(25	)
Net advertising expense	$	99		$	74		$	69

Catalog Costs

Catalog costs, which primarily comprise paper, printing, and postage, are capitalized and amortized over the expected customer response period related to each catalog, which is generally 90 days. Cooperative reimbursements earned for the promotion of certain products are agreed upon with vendors and are recorded in the same period as the associated catalog expenses are amortized. Prepaid catalog costs totaled $3 million and $4 million at January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011, respectively.

Catalog costs, which are included as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses, were as follows:


	2011			2010			2009
	(in millions)
Catalog costs	$	44		$	45		$	48
Cooperative reimbursements		(5	)		(5	)		(4	)
Net catalog expense	$	39		$	40		$	44

Earnings Per Share

The Company accounts for and discloses earnings per share using the treasury stock method. Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing reported net income for the period by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding at the end of the period. Restricted stock awards, which contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends, are considered participating securities and are included in the calculation of basic earnings per share. Diluted earnings per share reflects the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period used in the basic earnings per share computation plus dilutive common stock equivalents. The computation of basic and diluted earnings per share is as follows:


	2011		2010		2009
	(in millions, except per share data)
Net income from continuing operations	$	278	$	169	$	47
Weighted-average common shares outstanding		153.0		155.7		156.0
Basic Earnings per share from continuing operations	$	1.81	$	1.08	$	0.30
Weighted-average common shares outstanding		153.0		155.7		156.0
Dilutive effect of potential common shares		1.4		1.0		0.3
Weighted-average common shares outstanding assuming dilution		154.4		156.7		156.3
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations	$	1.80	$	1.07	$	0.30

Potential common shares include the dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock units. Options to purchase 3.8 million, 4.5 million, and 6.3 million shares of common stock at January 28, 2012, January 29, 2011, and January 30, 2010, respectively, were not included in the computations because the exercise price of the options was greater than the average market price of the common shares and, therefore, the effect of their inclusion would be antidilutive. Contingently issuable shares of 0.9 million have not been included as the vesting conditions have not been satisfied.

Share-Based Compensation

The Company recognizes compensation expense in the financial statements for share-based awards based on the grant date fair value of those awards. Additionally, stock-based compensation expense includes an estimate for pre-vesting forfeitures and is recognized over the requisite service periods of the awards. See Note 21, Share-Based Compensation, for information on the assumptions the Company used to calculate the fair value of share-based compensation.

Upon exercise of stock options, issuance of restricted stock or units, or issuance of shares under the employees stock purchase plan, the Company will issue authorized but unissued common stock or use common stock held in treasury. The Company may make repurchases of its common stock from time to time, subject to legal and contractual restrictions, market conditions, and other factors.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents at January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011 were $830 million and $675 million, respectively. Included in these amounts are $191 million and $165 million of short-term deposits as of January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011, respectively. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, including commercial paper and money market funds, to be cash equivalents. Additionally, amounts due from third party credit card processors for the settlement of debit and credit card transactions are included as cash equivalents as they are generally collected within three business days.

Investments

Changes in the fair value of available-for-sale securities are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss in the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity and are not reflected in the Consolidated Statements of Operations until a sale transaction occurs or when declines in fair value are deemed to be other-than-temporary. The Company routinely reviews available-for-sale securities for other-than-temporary declines in fair value below the cost basis, and when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of a security may not be recoverable, the security is written down to fair value. The Company’s auction rate security was valued at $5 million for both January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011. See Note 19, Fair Value Measurements, for further discussion of these investments.

Merchandise Inventories and Cost of Sales

Merchandise inventories for the Company’s Athletic Stores are valued at the lower of cost or market using the retail inventory method. Cost for retail stores is determined on the last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) basis for domestic inventories and on the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) basis for international inventories. The retail inventory method is commonly used by retail companies to value inventories at cost and calculate gross margins due to its practicality. Under the retail inventory method, cost is determined by applying a cost-to-retail percentage across groupings of similar items, known as departments. The cost-to-retail percentage is applied to ending inventory at its current owned retail valuation to determine the cost of ending inventory on a department basis. The Company provides reserves based on current selling prices when the inventory has not been marked down to market. Merchandise inventories of the Direct-to-Customers business are valued at the lower of cost or market using weighted-average cost, which approximates FIFO. Transportation, distribution center, and sourcing costs are capitalized in merchandise inventories. The Company expenses the freight associated with transfers between its store locations in the period incurred. The Company maintains an accrual for shrinkage based on historical rates.

Cost of sales is comprised of the cost of merchandise, occupancy, buyers’ compensation, and shipping and handling costs. The cost of merchandise is recorded net of amounts received from vendors for damaged product returns, markdown allowances, and volume rebates, as well as cooperative advertising reimbursements received in excess of specific, incremental advertising expenses. Occupancy includes the amortization of amounts received from landlords for tenant improvements.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Significant additions and improvements to property and equipment are capitalized. Maintenance and repairs are charged to current operations as incurred. Major renewals or replacements that substantially extend the useful life of an asset are capitalized and depreciated. Owned property and equipment are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets: maximum of 50 years for buildings and 3 to 10 years for furniture, fixtures, and equipment. Property and equipment under capital leases and improvements to leased premises are generally amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the asset or the remaining lease term. Capitalized software reflects certain costs related to software developed for internal use that are capitalized and amortized. After substantial completion of a project, the costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over a 2 to 7 year period. Capitalized software, net of accumulated amortization, is included as a component of property and equipment and was $27 million at both January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011.

Recoverability of Long-Lived Assets

The Company recognizes impairment losses whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of long-lived tangible and intangible assets with finite lives may not be recoverable. Management’s policy in determining whether an impairment indicator exists, a triggering event, comprises measurable operating performance criteria at the division level, as well as qualitative measures. The Company considers historical performance and future estimated results, which are predominately identified from the Company’s strategic long-range plans, in its evaluation of potential store-level impairment and then compares the carrying amount of the asset with the estimated future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset. If the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the estimated expected undiscounted future cash flows, the Company measures the amount of the impairment by comparing the carrying amount of the asset with its estimated fair value. The estimation of fair value is measured by discounting expected future cash flows at the Company’s weighted-average cost of capital. The Company estimates fair value based on the best information available using estimates, judgments, and projections as considered necessary.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The Company reviews goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite lives for impairment annually during the first quarter of its fiscal year or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. The fair value of each reporting unit is determined using a combination of market and discounted cash flow approaches.

Derivative Financial Instruments

All derivative financial instruments are recorded in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets at their fair values. For derivatives designated as a hedge, and effective as part of a hedge transaction, the effective portion of the gain or loss on the hedging derivative instrument is reported as a component of other comprehensive income/loss or as a basis adjustment to the underlying hedged item and reclassified to earnings in the period in which the hedged item affects earnings. The effective portion of the gain or loss on hedges of foreign net investments is generally not reclassified to earnings unless the net investment is disposed of.

To the extent derivatives do not qualify or are not designated as hedges, or are ineffective, their changes in fair value are recorded in earnings immediately, which may subject the Company to increased earnings volatility.

Fair Value

The Company categorizes its financial instruments into a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. The fair value hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3). If the inputs used to measure fair value fall within different levels of the hierarchy, the category level is based on the lowest priority level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of the instrument. Fair value is determined based upon the exit price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants exclusive of any transaction costs.

The Company’s financial assets recorded at fair value are categorized as follows:

Level 1 – Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets.

Level 2 – Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs or significant value-drivers are observable in active markets.

Level 3 – Model-derived valuations in which one or more significant inputs or significant value-drivers are unobservable.

Income Taxes

The Company determines its deferred tax provision under the liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their reported amounts using presently enacted tax rates. Deferred tax assets are recognized for tax credits and net operating loss carryforwards, reduced by a valuation allowance, which is established when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

A taxing authority may challenge positions that the Company adopted in its income tax filings. Accordingly, the Company may apply different tax treatments for transactions in filing its income tax returns than for income tax financial reporting. The Company regularly assesses its tax positions for such transactions and records reserves for those differences when considered necessary. Tax positions are recognized only when it is more likely than not, based on technical merits, that the positions will be sustained upon examination. Tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not threshold are measured using a probability weighted approach as the largest amount of tax benefit that is greater than fifty percent likely of being realized upon settlement. Whether the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold is met for a tax position is a matter of judgment based on the individual facts and circumstances of that position evaluated in light of all available evidence. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. Accrued interest and penalties are included within the related tax liability line in the consolidated balance sheet.

Provision for U.S. income taxes on undistributed earnings of foreign subsidiaries is made only on those amounts in excess of the funds considered to be permanently reinvested.

Pension and Postretirement Obligations

In 2011, the Company changed how the discount rate was selected to measure the present value of U.S. benefit obligations from the Citibank Pension Discount curve to Towers Watson’s Bond:Link model. The current discount rate is determined by reference to the Bond:Link interest rate model based upon a portfolio of highly rated U.S. corporate bonds with individual bonds that are theoretically purchased to settle the plan’s anticipated cash outflows. The cash flows are discounted to their present value and an overall discount rate is determined. The discount rate selected to measure the present value of the Company’s Canadian benefit obligations was developed by using the plan’s bond portfolio indices, which match the benefit obligations.

Insurance Liabilities

The Company is primarily self-insured for health care, workers’ compensation, and general liability costs. Accordingly, provisions are made for the Company’s actuarially determined estimates of discounted future claim costs for such risks, for the aggregate of claims reported and claims incurred but not yet reported. Self-insured liabilities totaled $14 million and $15 million at January 28, 2012 and January 29, 2011, respectively. The Company discounts its workers’ compensation and general liability reserves using a risk-free interest rate. Imputed interest expense related to these liabilities was not significant for 2011, 2010, and 2009.

Accounting for Leases

The Company recognizes rent expense for operating leases as of the possession date for store leases or the commencement of the agreement for a non-store lease. Rental expense, inclusive of rent holidays, concessions, and tenant allowances are recognized over the lease term on a straight-line basis. Contingent payments based upon sales and future increases determined by inflation related indices cannot be estimated at the inception of the lease and accordingly, are charged to operations as incurred.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currency of the Company’s international operations is the applicable local currency. The translation of the applicable foreign currency into U.S. dollars is performed for balance sheet accounts using current exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and for revenue and expense accounts using the weighted-average rates of exchange prevailing during the year. The unearned gains and losses resulting from such translation are included as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive loss within shareholders’ equity.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, Testing Goodwill for Impairment, that is effective in 2012. The revised standard is intended to reduce cost and complexity of the annual goodwill impairment test by providing entities an option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. We do not believe that the adoption of this ASU will have a significant effect on our results of operations or financial position.

Other recently issued accounting pronouncements did not, or are not believed by management to, have a material effect on the Company’s present or future consolidated financial statements.

Basis of Presentation