TL;DR
Fleet Feet celebrates its 45th anniversary with a limited edition Heritage Collection honoring its co-founders, Sally Edwards and Elizabeth Jansen. The brand has seen significant growth, with its strongest sales months in its 45-year history despite a turbulent year for retail in 2020.
Fleet Feet opened its doors in Sacramento, California in 1976. Despite a difficult first year of business, Edwards and Jansen were profitable and turned their running store into a hub for the running community - a place where runners could gather with friends, go for runs and see the latest shoes and gear. It became a place for inspiration and helping people experience a life changed by running.
“Sally and Elizabeth truly changed everything about what running could do for a community when they opened the doors of the first store,” said Joey Pointer, CEO and president of Fleet Feet. “We have the privilege of continuing their legacy every day by showing our communities how Running Changes Everything. Our Heritage Collection is a perfect reflection of where we came from and where we’re going, to celebrate the brand we’ve built today around our core value to “Run Together.”
Fleet Feet’s milestone anniversary comes on the heels of a significant growth period for the brand. Despite a turbulent year for retail in 2020, Fleet Feet maintained success serving nearly 1.2 million customers amid the pandemic through e-commerce growth, new store openings, the introduction of innovative technology and new charitable partners.
Fleet Feet’s sales have seen their strongest months in the company’s 45-year history. March 2021 was the company's all-time highest sales month with system-wide sales up 24% compared to its previous highest sales month in June 2020. This strong performance trend continued in April and May, as the combined brick-and-mortar sales were up 34%, and digital sales were up more than 300% compared to April and May 2019.
In this story
This story was originally published in Franchising.com on July 1, 2021. Burnaze summarizes and links to the original reporting.
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