What The Running Industry Needs
RUNUTAINMENT
Running + Entertainment = Runutainment
Footwear News asked a few Presidents and CEO’s what the biggest trends in fashion/retail would be in 2021 and Ankur Amin, CEO, TGS Holdings (Parent company to Extra Butter) said, “It will be experiential retail. Brick-and-mortar retail will need to be more disruptive.” Saucony’s President, Anne Cavassa, said, “My big prediction for retail: Experiential retail will win the day and the local shop will have a heart-warming renaissance.”
This was music to my ears because I have been creating running-related content since 2013. Experiential retail aka Retailtainment is starting to catch up, better late than never. My thesis is simple, running is boring, stuffy, elitist, it excluded a large swath of the population and it is not viewed as cool.
And if the aforementioned was not enough it was misogynistic, this was the same sport that tried dragging Kathrine Switzer off the Boston Marathon course in 1967. It would take another five years before the Boston Marathon officially allowed women to compete.
What qualifies me to talk about Retailtainment?
My 15-year management career in retail started overnight at Kinko’s, making copies. Work-life balance was…
