Seattle-based Brooks Running has bounced back from the brink of bankruptcy to emerge as an industry leader and is now aiming for further growth under incoming CEO Dan Sheridan.
Sheridan, who spent his entire career at Brooks, will succeed longtime CEO Jim Weber. Sheridan credits Weber with discovering the niche running performance that Brooks currently leads. His job is to maintain that edge and expand into other areas.
In an exclusive interview with The Seattle Times, Sheridan said he plans to grow Brooks' apparel business, expand footwear options for gym and fitness consumers and enter the Chinese market.
“I'm inheriting a really healthy business, a really healthy brand, a group of people and a team that I think are the best in the industry, and that doesn't happen to a lot of CEOs,” said Sheridan, 51. Ta. .
Sheridan has served as Brooks' chief operating officer and president since 2022 and will assume the top job next month.
Sheridan is a Brooks Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Washington. Throughout his 25 years with the company, or his entire career, he started as a field representative supporting specialty stores with all of his marketing needs regarding Brooks. Sheridan described himself as a “runner,” not a runner, and said he jogs several times a week, including at Magnuson Park in Seattle, near where he lives.
He said he now wants to build Brooks' operational base to attract more customers.
three tier strategy
Mr. Sheridan will succeed Mr. Weber, who served as CEO for 23 years. During his tenure, Mr. Weber took Mr. Brooks from near-declaration of bankruptcy in 2001 to becoming an independent subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway in 2011, and now a $1 billion brand. Brooks has nearly 1,300 of his employees, including about 500 in Seattle.
According to Sheridan, Weber is responsible for establishing Brooks' reputation in the performance running field. The company holds the No. 1 position in the adult performance running shoes market, with a 21% market share in the adult running category.
“He's what I would call a Hall of Fame CEO in the sporting goods industry,” Sheridan said of Weber. “This brand will last forever because of what he introduced. It's really fun.”
Weber was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2017 and had to take time off from work until 2018 for treatment. Although he is now cancer-free, Weber told the New York Times in 2022 that he will no longer be able to go for six-mile runs. A spokesperson for Brooks said complications from surgery after Weber's treatment influenced his decision to return.
Sheridan hopes to build on the foundation laid by Weber and push Brooks beyond running.
His strategy for the next three to five years includes expanding Brooks' apparel categories as well as products for walking, gym and fitness consumers. A good running shoe is also a good gym or walking shoe, he said.
“We'll be talking to more people,” Sheridan said.
He said Brooks is also expanding in Europe, with an office in Amsterdam, and plans to enter the Chinese market with two stores this year.
In China, “the middle class is growing, so people are spending more time on fitness,” Sheridan said. There, the strategy will be primarily digital, but in the U.S., Sheridan believes much of Brooks' growth will come from selling through independent running retailers. Brooks has one of his flagship stores, his Brooks Trailhead, on his first floor at the company's headquarters.
Among the specialty stores supplied and supported by Brooks is Super Jock'n Jill, with locations in Seattle's Green Lake District and Redmond. Super Jock'n Jill has been in business for his nearly 50 years and has had a decades-long partnership with Brooks.
General manager Ty Whitten, who has worked with Sheridan for decades and considers him a friend, said partnering with brands like Brooks is a “great coexistence.” He said Brooks recognizes that specialty stores are validating their products for customers and is active in supporting those stores.
Mr. Whitten said he did not expect the relationship between Super Jock'n'Jill and Mr. Brooks to change under Mr. Sheridan's direction, as Mr. Sheridan is familiar with relationships with specialty stores.
“Dan understands that,” Witten said. “He's the right person for the job.”
Seattle roots, global ambitions
Brooks reported sales of $1.2 billion in 2023, up 5% from the previous year, and sold more than 20 million units, the company announced in February. In North America, 2023 revenue increased 7% year over year as Brooks reached his $1 billion mark for the first time.
Sheridan said he's not worried about competition from emerging brands such as Hoka and On Running.
“We're more concerned about what we can control, which is executing our strategy,” Sheridan said. “What I know is that if we execute on this product strategy, serve our retailers really well and do our best in the Brooks brand space, we can beat the competition. . We've done it against the Nikes of the world.”
Amid Brooks' growth plans, he said the economic situation is keeping him up at night. The consumer price index in February increased by 3.2% compared to the same month last year. Before the pandemic, normal inflation was around 2%.
“There are question marks over the economy,” Sheridan said. “In our business, he's now making inventory decisions for the next five to six months, right? So he has to take a short-term and long-term view. And those are always difficult decisions.”
Still, he said the inflation crisis affecting retailers such as discount apparel store Ross hasn't hit Brooks too hard. Sheridan said avid runners are in the premium category, so they can forego habits like eating out, but not running gear. He added that in a recession, people may cancel their gym memberships and pick up running shoes for a workout instead.
But while Brooks maintains its top share in the adult premium running category, its competitors are also growing.
Zurich, Switzerland-based On Running reported 2023 revenue of approximately $2 billion, an increase of 46.6% from the previous year.
In May, Goleta, California-based Hoka reported annual revenue of $1.41 billion, an increase of 58.5% from the previous year.
Although competition has increased in recent years, Mr Whitten said Brooks remains one of the top super jock'n'jill brands. The running shoe market is “constantly changing,” and the Seattle brand is “changing with the times” and keeping up with new products, he said.
Mr. Sheridan said he was employee number 53 when he first joined Brooks. For the past 25 years, he has watched the company grow.
Brooks' history begins long before its roots in Seattle. This shoe manufacturing company began in Philadelphia in 1914 with the production of ballet shoes and bathing shoes used for swimming. He moved to Bothell in 1993, celebrating his 100th anniversary, and in 2014 moved to his Seattle headquarters on Stone His Way between Wallingford and Fremont.
“I'm so proud of it because when you add up all the people running around the world, we're giving runners something that I think will change lives, change days, and ultimately change the world. '' said Sheridan.
