atmos’ run in North America is officially over.
The Japanese footwear retailer, which began its empire with its first brick & mortar shop in Harajuku back in 2000, first opened its one and only U.S. store in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Located right on 125th St., atmos Harlem served the northern Manhattan community as one of the few boutique-like sneaker retailers, hosting various in-store activations in collaborations with brands.
In November 2020, atmos merged with renowned Philadelphia-based sneaker boutique UBIQ to form atmos USA. A year later, Foot Locker completed its acquisition of the global atmos brand, although the foreign imprint continued to operate independently and with its own name in its NYC, Philly, and DC locations.
According to Footwear News, Foot Locker has chose to shutter the atmos USA business, closing the three brick and mortar stores as well as its online store.
“The Atmos brand has a unique and authentic identity, character and spirit. Given the strength of Atmos in Japan and Asia, we are focused on further investing in this market. Though in line with this focus and our plans for simplification, we have made the strategic decision to close our three Atmos stores in North America and our Atmos U.S. website,” said Atmos SVP and GM Patrick Walsh in a statement.
atmos will now focus its business solely in Japan and Asia.