Running Insight

AUGUST 1, 2017

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T o David Penrose, it just made sense. Before the retail rookie purchased Klicks Running and Walking in Bellingham, WA, last year, he performed his due diligence – and then some. Penrose solicited input from local coaches and running groups and measured the 20-year- old running store's market appeal against another local independent running shop as well as the area's three big-box sporting goods stores. He gathered earnest counsel from his older brother, an investment banker, as well as insights from other legal and financial pros. Most importantly, though, he stood in Klicks himself, from opening to close for an entire week. He chatted with customers and staff and, above all, observed. The business was struggling, Penrose knew, and he sure wasn't going to invest without understanding where it was leaking and why. "It was work that had to be done," Penrose says. "I had to determine what might have been broken and if it could be repaired." Today, Penrose's calculated efforts have the once stagnant running shop on the upswing and sporting a new moniker as BBay Running. Eyes on the business Though Penrose was a Klicks customer and longtime associate of store founder Jim Clevenger, Penrose shifted from happy-go- lucky customer to strategic businessman when the opportunity to purchase Klicks arose. Fortunately, it was familiar territory for Penrose, who has a background in analytics and computer science. In fact, with an insurance company he founded, Penrose was accustomed to analyzing the value of businesses. He walked into Klicks on a Monday morning with lunch in hand and eager to understand the shop's operations and vibe. In the first hour, he asked the manager about how many customers the store might expect, about customer ages and the gender breakdown. The manager relayed anecdotal thoughts, but no concrete metrics. The Power of Observation Before purchasing a struggling Washington-based running store, David Penrose sat back and observed, an exercise that now has BBay Running on the rise. Photos: Facebook.com/BBayRunning 2 runninginsight.com © 2017 Formula4media LLC. RUNNING INSIGHT ® is a registered trademark of Formula4Media, LLC. © 2017 all rights reserved. Running Insight is published twice each month, is edited for owners and top executives at running specialty stores and available only via email.The opinions by authors and contributors to Running Insight are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. Articles appearing in Running Insight may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the publisher. Formula4Media, LLC, P.O. Box 23-1318, Great Neck, NY 11023. Tel: 516-305-4709. Jeff Nott ...................................jnott@formula4media.com Jeff Gruenhut .................. jgruenhut@formula4media.com Christina Henderson .... chenderson@formula4media.com Katie O'Donohue .........kodonohue@formula4media.com Sam Selvaggio.............. sselvaggio@formula4media.com Daemon Filson .....................dfilson@formula4media.com Editor-in-Chief ........ Mark Sullivan: msullivan@formula4media.com Managing Editor ............ Cara Griffin: cgriffin@formula4media.com Publisher .....................Troy Leonard: tleonard@formula4media.com SUBSCRIBE store.formula4media.com BACK ISSUES runninginsight.com Advertise BY DANIEL P. SMITH Penrose's calculated efforts have the once stagnant running shop on the upswing and sporting a new moniker as BBay Running.

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