A skeptic's view on the channel.

‍By Jeff Metzdorff, RIA Board Member
Owner, Mill City Running, St. Paul, Minnesota

Let’s lay the groundwork.  We have what they want.  

‘We’ meaning Run Specialty retailers and ‘they’ meaning every other small business in the US.

Hardly a week goes by that we’re not sent a link to a Business of Fashion or Buzzfeed article proclaiming that Marathons are the New Fashion Runways or that Gen Z are Finding Love in the (Run) Club.   I get it Aunt Carol, we’re in the cultural zeitgeist, and you’re the third person to send me this link.  

Step back and appreciate the alchemy:  we’re selling the strongest product in ages, we’ve hit a cultural moment where our sport is (finally) cool, and we’ve got hundreds of people in our communities actively seeking ‘third spaces’.   We have what they want.

But this begs the question, what are we doing about it?  

Groundwork laid, now let’s look in the mirror.  

Start by answering this honestly: what are you doing in your store that’s interesting right now?  Or even more pointed, what are you doing that’s got your staff excited?  

Is it time to reboot that fledgling Tuesday Night Run?  Or reach out to the new run group in town? Or are you ready to try that weird *multi-brand-super-trainer-speed-dating-demo* concept that you’ve been kicking around?  There has never been a better time to stretch outside of your comfort zone and our brands are hungrier than ever to partner.  There’s an ARMY of tech reps driving around your town right now in VW Tiguan’s who would be thrilled to take a swing at something outside of the same old demo run.  Bring them that half (or even quarter)-baked idea and let them cook.  

The speed at which information and trend breaks over social media in current day lends itself to taking a risk.  The floor is an event that is forgotten about moments after you turn off the lights, and the ceiling is a viral moment that gets your customer, staff, and business buzzing.  As we’re fond of  saying around Mill City Running ‘let’s try some of the bad ideas, all the good ones have been done already’.  

If you’re not excited about where we’re at, or more so where we’re headed, hit me up (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), I’d love to hear your perspective.  But be warned, even this skeptic is seeing the glass half full.

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