Footwear Insight

8 • Footwear Insight ~ July/August 2017 The New Boss at Fleet Feet footwearinsight.com J oey Pointer is not your typical CFO turned retail CEO. The new CEO at Fleet Feet, Inc. is an accountant by training, but would rather talk about the time he spends in stores and the relationships he has with many of the store's franchisees. Pointer joined Fleet Feet in 2004 and calls himself a "Fleet Feet lifer" who has visited 100-plus stores, slept on the couches of franchisees and is now in charge of the country's largest group of run specialty stores. Fleet Feet has 165 stores in 38 states, including 35 corporately owned locations. Pointer took over as interim CEO when Jeff Phillips left earlier this year and had the "interim" removed this summer. That move has been well received by Fleet Feet store owners and major brand executives, who credit Pointer for being open minded to new ideas. "When I joined the business, we had maybe five employees," recalls Pointer. "Our bigger stores all had more employees than we did. And as CFO I could do my job in about 15 hours a week." So, Pointer began visiting stores and building relationships with franchisees, which is proving to be a big help to him in his new role. "Retail in general is facing some real headwinds," he tells Footwear Insight, "and we are cognizant of that. But at the same time, we're excited about the future." The main advantage that run stores have over other retailers, according to Pointer, is that "we can create customers." He explains that "people want to be inspired to be healthy and active and running is a core aspect of any healthy exercise routine." Clearly, Fleet Feet will continue its Couch to 5K and No Boundaries Programs to "create customers," but Pointer also wants to see his stores focus more on execution and cost controls. "It's no secret that stores will have to do more with less in the coming years," he says. For Fleet Feet, that may mean stores with smaller footprints and fewer employees that are not "customer facing." "Over the past few years, running stores have grown from 1500-square feet to 3000-square feet to 6000-square feet," he says. "We need to be selective in the sites and sizes we're looking at to make sure the stores are best positioned to be profitable. One-thousnd- square feet is too small to host a spike night, but we don't want the stores too big, either." Along those lines, Fleet Feet Inc. is expanding its distribution center in North Carolina to service its stores with regular replenishment shipments on key accessory items. This fall key footwear styles from On Running will also be shipped from the corporate DC, making the Swiss shoe brand the first non-accessory item to be included in the program. Thus far in 2017, Fleet Feet comp store sales are up .9% percent, according to Pointer, with overall sales up three precent. Fleet Feet has opened seven stores this year and has another seven in the pipeline. Fleet Feet Inc. is also continuing to look at converting existing independents to its franchised model. "It's difficult to be a single door out there now," Pointer says. "Our pitch to those stores is that we can support them with technology, marketing and vendor programs that are better for them than what they could accomplish on their own in most cases." Pointer says Fleet Feet has no regrets about passing on the Jack Rabbit Sports sell-off by Finish Line earlier this year. "We have very different cultures and business models," he points out. "We had no interest in taking over a business where we would have to close stores and wind down leases. But competing with them will make us better. I'm intensely competitive and like to win." O THEFOOTWEAREYE EXEC INTERVIEW Joey Pointer Fleet Feet comp store and overall sales are up in 2017. "When you turn on the news, you hear about two things — the dysfunction in Washington and the retail apocalypse. The collapse of brick-and-mortar retail is vastly overstated, although the retail trade has lost more jobs than coal mines." "New Balance is a beloved brand by our store owners. They were our first vendor partner and created the No Boundaries training program. But it didn't translate to business. The past few years, the product has been great and it's now the number two brand in many of our stores." "When we launched our fit process in 2002 it was a difference maker with the consumers who were accustomed to the brick-and-mortar experience. Today, people are digitally native. We talk about the world as BG – Before Google – and AG – After Google. We live in an AG World." "To be successful, we need to sell big stories in big ways. Running is a core aspect of any fitness program and a brand like Mizuno can help us appeal to softball players who are also runners." Pointers

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