runstyle

runstylemag.com Spring 2025 runstyle 17 more so than many. January and February turned out fine and March has been fantastic." In footwear, Charm City sees Asics continuing to ride its strong revival with the benefit of "fantastic" product and "tremendous people," while Brooks and New Balance are off to a strong start for the retailer in 2025 on improved product. Saucony is also seeing an uptick. Nike is undergoing a "resurgence" at Charm City Run on some early paybacks from its reinvestment in run specialty. On a smaller scale, Puma and Altra are seeing strong demand with Altra's Experience range of 4mm drop shoes helping the brand reach more customers. Added Mansfield, "We're seeing the brands that are doing well with us show an investment in our brand, and they really position themselves as a kind of a second voice underneath our brand. What can they do to elevate Charm City Run's message? ey know if they do that their brand is going to benefit." Carbon-plated shoes remain a "very small part" of Charm City's business but remain a "fun story to tell" and drive traffic, said Mansfield. Charm City Run has also found success adding court shoes from New Balance, Asics and Skechers to support the pickleball craze. In apparel, the cold weather led to a slow start to spring selling, but the category's "coming alive" in March, similar to footwear, with Vuori leading the way. In other categories, Goodr and Shokz continue to see strength while Garmin has delivered a "very solid start" to the year. Mansfield believes run specialty will likely fare well should the broader economy slow. He said, "When there's uncertainty and people are stressed, they tend to want to run and walk more." He also said footwear, the channel's core category, is "a little bit insulated" from economic worries because people need shoes to run or walk. However, he's also confident Charm City Run's renewed commitment to driving awareness will pay off in traffic gains. Mansfield said, "We're getting back to, 'If we were just opening up tomorrow, what are the things we need to do?'" Gamechangers Running Company, which operates two stores in Georgia and one in Florida, had a "decent" winter considering traffic was disrupted by three hurricanes and early spring sales have been helped by some promising updates from Brooks, Hoka, and Saucony, said John Cameron, owner. e updates from Brooks this year "have been pretty substantial," including the Glycerin 22. While Saucony is finding success with a number of updates, other strong releases for Gamechangers include Hoka's Bondi 9, On's Cloudsurfer 2 and Asics' Novablast 5. Cameron said, "It's a good mix across brands as they're launching new styles. And we have a couple coming over the next few weeks that are probably going to pick it up even further." Cameron said lower-cushion styles, citing the Escalante from Altra, continue to do well for Gamechangers, but the momentum remains toward max cushioning, with On soon entering the category with the Cloudsurfer Max. Said Cameron, "Right now, people are into so-comfy." In apparel, Gamechangers is finding success pairing Lululemon with its store brand supported by Sky Manufacturing. Said Cameron, "I would suggest any retailer look into not just carrying a running brand, but invest into their own as well because people want to buy from you and your brand, especially if it's from Sky which is really great quality." Other brands seeing strength include ChicknLegs, Sprints and Oofos, as well as the socks category, supported by a year-round "Buy ree, Get One Free" promotion. One ongoing challenge, according to Cameron, is "channel leakage," or when in- season product from brands is found at retailers less committed to servicing customers with a Gamechangers Running Company staff. Personalized service at Charm City Run.

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