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T he Appalachian Running Company, a four-store run specialty business, will expand to six locations across Pennsy lvania later this year with new stores planned in Camp Hill and Erie. Currently a sub-brand of Shoe Fly Inc., the history of the Appalachian Running Co. can be traced back to its founding by two physical therapists back in 2008. In 2019, those two physical therapists, Brian Cardin and Steve Miller, who had a practice adjoining their Appalachian Running Co. store, sought out Shoe Fly Shoe, Inc., a locally owned independent shoe chain, about becoming its partner in the run specialty business. With Shoe Fly on board, the next chapter for the Appalachian Running Co. (aka App Run Co.) was born. Shoe Fly Inc., which also owns 11 Shoe Fly banners in the independent footwear channel, was able to ramp up App Run Co.'s business, helped in part by the fact that Shoe Fly's operation previously included owning a few New Balance-only stores. (Two NB stores would be converted into App Run Co. stores by Shoe Fly.) Shoe Fly's ownership team is led by Todd Lewis, who has had a long career in independent shoe retail operations and has been a member of the National Shoe Retailers Association since 2004, and Greg Wagner, president of Wagner Quality Shoes in Lawrenceville and Monroeville, PA. Aer acquiring App Run Co., in addition to converting two of its former New Balance stores to App Run Co. stores, the company also converted a Shoe Fly store in Altoona, PA into an App Run Co. store. Other business and strategy changes were also a boost to the business. Just before the pandemic's onset in 2020, Shoe Fly rebranded Appalachian Running Co. with a new logo and website, doubled the store's inventory in its original Carlisle store and continued with the banner's focus on the medical needs of runners that commenced with Cardin and Miller at the helm. (e Cardin and Miller practice is still adjacent to the Carlisle store.) Increased store traffic and sales success with locales in the southcentral region of the Keystone State ensued. A team of four handles all buying for Shoe Fly, Appalachian Running Co. and Shoe Fly's newest concept, Work Zone, a work-focused business that currently consists of two stores adjacent to Shoe Fly locations with a separate entrance and manager and a singular focus on the service shoe segment. Given the persistent supply chain issues, the parent decided in 2020 to open and stock a local warehouse to aid in the re-stocking of all retail doors within its portfolio. So, why would an independent shoe chain want to delve into the retail run specialty business? HOW APPALACHIAN RUNNING CO. WAS BORN 36 • May/June 2022 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com Shoe Fly and Appalachian Running Co. Have a riving Run Retail Business with a Forward-inking Business Strategy. By Bob McGee RUN RETAIL / PROFILE

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