16 • September 2021 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com
the transitionary time marked
by increased curbside pick-ups,
online ordering and appointment
shopping. But as the pandemic
has eased in parts of the U.S., key
store staers are moving onto
other jobs, grad school and the
like. e situation is forcing run
specialty retailers to re-evaluate
their compensation packages
and redeploy remaining sta to
do more with less.
Sto c kpi l i ng : Aw are of t h e
ongoing logistic/supply chain
crisis, which has been a factor
for at least 16 months, there
is a movement underfoot to
stretch inventory-on-hand with
key models without busting the
budget or igniting a potential
"re sale" down the road.
Here, we check in with specialty
running retailers on the state of
the market — and how they are
strategizing.
l
K
ris Hartner, owner of Naperville
Running Company, a three-door
run specialty chain in Illinois, was
encouraged recently by what he saw a key
branded vendor do—pull a key style from its
own ecommerce site and move the inventory
into the specialty running channel.
"Customers value having the products where
they want to buy them," he says.
Naperville Running is addressing potential
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l Key Issues Impacting Specialty Run Retail
