Brooks Sports Receives Top Service Award
One of the leading shoe brands was recognized in a recent survey.
The footwear brand was recognized in a recent survey.
From: Running USA
BOTHELL, Wash. — Brooks Sports, Inc. continues to spread the Run Happy spirit with its specialty run channel partners, reinforced by the recently released Sports Marketing Surveys Running Specialty Store Sales Survey for spring 2011. In it, Brooks received top honors for Market Strength Forecast, Dealer Confidence, 14 of 17 Brand Ratings and Unweighted Footwear Market Share.
“Two years ago Brooks announced a 10-year vision to own the run and become the next billion dollar brand in performance running. The growth we are experiencing puts us ahead of plan and is largely fueled by our strong partnerships in specialty run,” said Jim Weber, president and CEO of Brooks Sports, Inc. “Brooks PureProject will add yet another gear to our brand by delivering a unique running experience to avid runners and those new to the sport.”
Business highlights include:
* Brooks total footwear sales in the U.S. are up 30 percent year-to-date, fueled in part by three shoes experiencing triple-digit growth: Ghost (up 232 percent), Trance (up 110 percent) and Ravenna (up 109 percent).
* Brooks footwear backlog is up 55 percent year-over-year, driven by strong growth in the Brooks Core line and retailer enthusiasm for the upcoming Brooks PureProject lightweight running line.
* Brooks has strengthened its lead in total brand market share over all competitors at SRA for the eighth straight month since taking the top spot from ASICS in November 2010, according to Leisure Trends Group.
* Brooks was named to Outside Magazine’s fourth annual “Best Places to Work” list. Brooks was ranked No. 40 out of 50 selected companies and is the only performance running footwear and apparel manufacturer on the list.
* In 2011, Brooks took home three consecutive “Editor’s Choice” awards from worldwide authority on running, Runner’s World. Most recently the Ghost 4 won top prize in the Fall Shoe Guide (second year in a row), and the Ravenna 2 and Defyance 4 earned awards in the Summer and Spring Shoe Guides.
* Brooks was crowned the 2011 Fleet Feet Sports Supplier of the Year in June “for providing excellent product, support, and services,” at the annual Fleet Feet National Franchise Conference. Fleet Feet also noted last year Brooks became the first brand to do more than $20 million in sales across its 90-store franchise network. Sports Marketing Surveys conducted in-depth phone interviews with 70 specialty running storeowners and managers throughout the U.S. to determine rankings. Panelists rated a variety of brands relative to quantitative sales data and diverse qualitative attributes. The Sports Marketing Survey found Brooks as the definitive leader in:
* Market Strength: 29 points separate Brooks from the pack, formulated by each brand’s predicted strength as reported by all running specialty stores, regardless of whether they carry the brand in question.
* Dealer Confidence: Brooks took top billing in a measure of retailers’ overall impressions of each brand and the company it represents.
* Brand Rating (number one in 14 of 17 categories):
– Performance Technology
– Credibility with Serious Runners
– Overall Product Appeal New Line vs. Current Line
– In House Customer Service
– Accuracy of Delivery (At-once)
– Product Availability (At-once)
– Accuracy of Delivery (Advance)
– Product Availability (Advance)
– Speed of Delivery (At-once)
– Speed of Delivery (Advance)
– Profit to Dealer
– Sales Rep Support
– Company’s Terms / Policies – Overall Mean Rating