Brooks Running Company Breaks the Tape with Double-Digit growth in 2012, from release, note by Larry Eder

Brooks Running Company made the decision, way back in 1999, to follow its own drummer. In 2000, Brooks dropped a large channel distributor, who was, in the final analysis, costing them more money than they made. They ventured into reaching out to the high school part of the sport (which many companies still don’t get, high school kids buy an average of five pairs a year and ARE your future consumers), making not good product, but consecutively producing excellent product, and remembering that each and every day, Brooks makes running shoes and needs to sell running shoes, one consumer at a time. 

The competition has tightened up, and, in the end, the consumer is rewarded with great product. 

How will 2013 go? RBR sees Running as continuing to grow. Run Specialty is a rarified area, and as some brands have told me, it seems that some in run specialty do not seem to appreciate how lucky the channel is. Some brands will pull out, and some brands will do, what everyone tries, try to take authentic product and go broad, expecting that core runners will just accept the product as a fait accompli. 

Brands come and go in Run Specialty. The brands that stay around, and or, prosper, are brands who understand, that in Run Specialty, and core running, they are working with the ten percent who influence the ninety percent. As 2012 can attest, Brooks is one of the brands that truly gets it. 

   Brooks Running Company Breaks the Tape with 
Double-Digit Growth in 2012

Leading Running Brand Sees Another Banner Year of Growth in the U.S. and Abroad

Bothell, Wash. – Jan. 22, 2013 – Brooks Running Company (www.brooksrunning.com) sprinted to the finish line in 2012 with record growth in the U.S. and Europe. Brooks experienced 43 percent growth in U.S. revenue in 2012 and a 31 percent increase in U.S. future order backlog. Brooks’ U.S. business also saw a 49 percent increase in “at once” fill-in order trends, an indicator of retail sell-through of products.

Despite a volatile Euro currency and shaky consumer confidence throughout Europe, Brooks experienced record growth. Revenue increased 41 percent on a local currency basis, driven by strong performance across all major European running markets. Future order backlog increased 25 percent.

“Brooks saw another extremely strong year in 2012. Our brand presence grew in the U.S. and abroad, our teams brought innovative products to the market and we were recognized externally with the highest honors for our commitment to performance, customer service and innovation,” said Jim Weber, President and CEO, Brooks Running Company. “I’m excited to build on this momentum in 2013 as we continue our quest to become the leader in performance running.” 

Growth in 2012 was driven by strong footwear sales in the U.S. In one year alone, Brooks achieved 45 percent year-over-year growth in footwear sales. While all footwear categories saw increased sales, its lightweight category led the pack. By year’s end, PureProject held 12 percent of the lightweight running retail dollar market share*, up 10 percentage points since December 2011. Such strong sales propelled Brooks to second place for overall retail dollar market share in the minimalist running footwear category. According to the latest data from Leisure Trends, the neutral and guidance categories weren’t far behind with three Brooks shoes experiencing double-digit growth December 2011 to 2012–Glycerin (83 percent), Ghost (66 percent) and Ravenna (43 percent).

Brooks’ footwear momentum wasn’t the only high point for Brooks in 2012; other business highlights include:

·         Brooks’ apparel business grew 25 percent year-over-year, driven by growing brand awareness and improved performance product.

·         Brooks was awarded Brand of the Year in athletics for the 2012 Footwear News Achievement Awards andVendor of the Year for a second year in a row by the Independent Running Retailer Association (IRRA) members.

·         Industry organizations publicly extolled Brooks’ products with 12 coveted honors including:

o    The PureCadence received Running Network’s “Best New Shoe” award.

o    The Ghost 5 received the Runner’s World “Editor’s Choice” award.

o    The Adrenaline GTS 13 received the Runner’s World “Editor’s Choice” award.

o    The Trance 11 received the Runner’s World “Editor’s Choice” award.

·         According to the Sports Marketing Surveys Running Specialty Store Sales Survey, Brooks retained its excellent customer service reputation, earning the number one spot for specialty running stores (SRA) customer service in the U.S., France, Germany and the UK.

·         Brooks also claimed the No. 1 spot in the U.S. and Germany, and the number two spot in France and the UK, as the highest-ranked brand by SRAs, according to the Sports Marketing Surveys Running Specialty Store Sales Survey.

After another robust year in 2012, Brooks’ 2013 momentum is stronger than ever and shows no sign of slowing down. 

For more information about Brooks’ performance running footwear, apparel, and accessories, please visitwww.brooksrunning.com.

About Brooks
Brooks Running Company designs and markets a line of performance footwear, apparel, and accessories in more than 60 countries worldwide. A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Brooks was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Bothell, Wash., near Seattle. The company’s mission is to inspire everyone to run and be active by creating innovative gear that keeps them running longer, farther, and faster. Visit www.brooksrunning.com for more information, and follow frequent brand updates on Twitter (@brooksrunning) and Facebook (www.Facebook.com/brooksrunning).