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 If
the Shoe Fits continued...
Sacramento’s Fleet Feet has established itself as an educational
center and makeshift runners’ hub, holding weekly group walk/runs,
free monthly seminars and long-term race-training programs.
Dusty Robinson, Fleet Feet’s marketing director, also serves
as head coach of the store’s explosively popular training
teams.
Personable and excited about fitness, Robinson holds a master’s
degree in exercise science. The training groups aren’t a major
source of revenue for Fleet Feet. They charge a small fee,
don’t lose money and sometimes make a little if the turnout
is sizable. Many participants have no running or exercise-walking
background, so Robinson focuses on clear instructions. There
is usually an end goal of an official run or a run-walk, but
trainees aren’t required to participate in the final race.
“The best part is that we get to see people feel better about
themselves,” says Jan. Additionally, the community outreach
ultimately drives sales.
No Boundaries is Fleet Feet’s most recent training project.
It’s also the most ambitious. When complete in 2008, it will
be the first-ever national training program of its kind. The
pilot program takes place this fall, concluding on Oct. 21
with a new race dubbed the Prosper Corporate Cup (sponsored
by this magazine’s parent company).
The idea, this time, is to promote workplace fitness. Businesses
enter as teams. Robinson and the Sweeneys hope the race will
eventually foster mini-challenges within certain business
spheres; for example, media companies, law firms, or real-estate
firms would race primarily against rivals in their respective
fields. “The one award I want to give,” says Pat, “is for
the fastest CEO in town.” (Fleet Feet has a training kit for
the race, so if you want to join, call the store to learn
how to get prepared.)
Not riding blindly on success, the Sweeneys know they have
to find new ways to keep consumers away from the superstores
and the internet retail sites. “In the ’70s, mail order was
going to put all of the running stores out of business. (But)
it didn’t. The internet is the newest version of that,” says
Pat. “You can’t touch and feel a shoe at Zappos.com.”
Staying In The Race
To compete, Fleet Feet offers a variety of incentives. If
a customer spends more than $80, purchases are shipped for
free. This is especially appealing to runners who wear only
one shoe model and may consider buying a second or third pair
from some other online retailer. If Fleet Feet ships duplicate
pairs for free, consumers may be more inclined to buy from
the store because they save money and support a local business.
Also, a new program returns 10 percent of purchases to the
customer in the form of in-store credit.
Customers are 60 percent women and 40 percent men, and the
owners project an eventual customer base of 70 percent women
as their new women’s store, Fleet Feet Outdoor, grows in popularity.
Located in an adjacent storefront, the year-old addition was
a result of mounting demand for women’s fitness/lifestyle
clothing. “Our customers were telling us that their favorite
stores were REI, Lucy and the Title Nine catalog, and that
if we carried (similar items) they would buy from us, too,”
says Pat.
While they’ve found success and remarkable sales growth in
the fitness industry, the Sweeneys say aspiring business owners
must be “prepared to work hard, work smart, be fearless and
financed.” Fleet Feet Sacramento spends less than 2 percent
of revenue on advertising, a minuscule amount when compared
with other businesses in the industry. Its grassroots approach
is to grow a network of satisfied, getting-in-shape customers
who want to refer their friends.
“I used to be afraid of competition,” says Pat. “But at the
end of the day we can only control what we do, and we know
we’re going to outwork (the bigger places). You’ve got to
do what you love to be happy in the long run. No pun intended.”
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