by Larry Eder
The Running Event is the most essential running trade show in North America.
I came from the era of the Super Show (1986-1996), which happened for a week in Atlanta, and all the brands were there. Reebok and NIKE used to get
bigger and bigger booths, and each brand had a party each night. In 1997, when NIKE and Reebok cut back, the show died overnight.
The Running Event began as a promising investment with the original Formula 4 crowd, who mortgaged everything they had to build the show. I believed in it and put RunningNetwork ad dollars and sponsorship dollars will be added to the event.
The Running Event has evolved. The running store staff now fly in and pay for their hotel. They must really want to be in Austin, Texas.
I spent one day at the show after a red-eye from Vegas (I had done two interviews with Global Athletics repped athletes).
Here are my takeaways:
- NIKE—Finally, the Swoosh pays attention to natural running. Behind the London 2012 Olympic spike line (NIKE lifer since 1993), Tony Bignell is trying to rebuild the brand, one step at a time. Watch for Pegasus, Vomero, and Air Structure, each with entry, mid-level, and high level. The NIKE comms team has been rebuilt, and they know and respect the run. Ashton Eaton, the greatest decathlete ever, in NIKE Innovation Lab (formerly NIKE Research LAB), it will probably take two and a half years for NIKE to return to where it should be, but they will return.
- ASICS—formerly Onitsuka, ASICS is back, focused in North America. Impressive trail and core running shoes. Attention to retail running stores, and the stores love it. ASICS is the fourth most crucial brand in performance running right now, and they will soon be in the top three. Why? ASICS realizes that the attention to detail on their core shoes is beloved. High schoolers are discovering ASICS, and the other brands need to understand this. ASICS is on a roll.
- Saucony—I sold an ad to Saucony in 1983, thanks to Harry Friedman, who worked for John Fisher then. Now owned by Wolverine, Saucony makes some of the best running shoes in the biz. Their cross-country, track spike, and Endorphin training shoes rock the world (thanks to Ted Fitzpatrick, who gets how to make great running shoes). I fear Wolverine is so cautious that they will not support Saucony, which should be a top 3 brand. If you are a woman runner, you must try Saucony.
- New Balance—-NB is a fascinating brand. They are the largest privately held brand in the biz. They sponsor great athletes and incredible events (NB Indoor and NB Outdoor) and have strong products. Still, they need to learn how to communicate with most performance runners. They have the product, events, and athletes to do so; they just do not. Running Retail loves NB, but HOKA, Brooks, On, Saucony, and ASICS are pushing them back, one sale at a time. Looking to see them get into Team Sales. Rebel is quite impressive, I loved 1080 and 880 as well!
- 361 degrees—-361 is a beautiful example of how a small, tight-knit group of running peeps can build a brand. 361 products are good, and the retailers who open their doors are doing well.
- Brooks—-Brooks is at the top of the food chain. They are battling HOKA, and their new product extensions are pretty good. Brooks Beasts, Hansons Brooks ODP, Des Linden, Josh Kerr, CJ Albertson, and Kara Goucher are building new fans of the brand. Their Max shoe is fantastic, and the team knows innovation is king. Dan Sheridan, the man at the top, rose through the ranks and knew he had to build one shoe sale at a time. Their reach at the high school level is scary, probably more grassroots than all but NIKE (NIKE in spikes, not trainers). Brooks has an excellent relationship with performance retailers.
- HOKA—the newest $2 billion running brand, HOKA has been on the scene for thirteen years, and they continue to grow. Their involvement in the trail, ultra, product innovation, and relationships with running retail is vital. Their saving of the FootLocker series gives them an essential entry into the high school market (with HOKA Postal and HOKA Summer mileage). Loved the new product I saw. Becca Broe may be the best-running innovation person in the biz; she has an exemplary team, and her enthusiasm is infectious. Each time they grab a sports marketing gem, I go, HOKA gets it.
- Diadora— If you are a running store and do not carry Diadora, why? Great heritage product, made in Italy, lasts a long time. Diadora needs to promote itself (transparency, I worked with Diadora in 1992-96, 2012-14). Fun product, each runner could have a pair of Diadora (out of their 9 shoes in the closet) to keep them going. Diadora needs to figure out how big of a deal they could be. Love how they give espresso out at the expo.
- PUMA—-one of the oldest brands. Like the NITRO product line, I love the team’s enthusiasm. They did a great job in Paris. They are slowly building relationships with retail businesses in the US. My biggest beef is that they have an essential track league, but only some know about it. A strong group of PUMA athlete assets could put them into the top 7 with the product, but it is a five-year focus.
- adidas — adidas has excellent products, but adidas North America does very little to support the running shoe business. They sell most of their products in fashion and fun. There is no issue, but adidas has some of the best athletes in the world and the finest running products, and adidas NA does not even support them. Do not believe me? Could you ask your local running store when they last carried adidas running? The reality is that adidas could be selling tons of running products because of the interest of people aged 14 to 25 in adidas’s heritage products.
- On running—-On running makes one of my favorite shoes, Cloudmonster 2. They have a strong group of athletes in North America, Europe, and Oceania. Great product. They need to focus on getting and keeping the US-running retail biz happy. They are number 3, will they stay there? They manage social media and pr well, but the connection with the product, athlete ambassadors, and beautiful events is needed to help build sales. The problem is that people who spend lots of time on social dig them, but are they going into running stores and purchasing On shoes?
- This is the most competitive time I have seen in forty-five years of observing running. First, you must make consistently great shoes, one shoe after another. Secondly, you must speak to running retail each and every day. Third, you better invest in tech peeps for your running. Fourth, you need to talk to long-term media, not just fanboys. Fifth, if you do not develop a relationship with the high school market, not the studs, but kids who dream of a 5:20 mile for girls and a 4:40 mile for guys, you will be on the discount rack in five years. This is war. Anyone who thinks that running biz is not like racing 10,000m on the track, then go work in a fishing brand.
