How much does a running store employee make

No, you're a dick who doesn't have enough class or decency to support the sport. Currently in-line shoes at running specialty stores are sold at MSRP usually, just like the shoes on any store online. Only in the store you can actually find out about the shoe and TALK to someone.

Doug E. wrote:

spoken like an owner wrote:

I like to try on shoes before I buy them... and that's the only time I set foot in specialty running stores anymore. I try on a couple pairs, thank them for their help, and go order them online.

That is a really jerky thing to do! Buying replacement shoes online is one thing, but if you don't even have the decency to buy your first pair from them after they helped you out.....

Also, if you succeed in your goal of running them out of buisness, where will you try your shoes on at?

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I agree with this response, yet I do not see how you would stop the non-serious runner from doing the exact same thing - even if he/she is a dick.

While you can eliminate the specialty store, you do lose the personal service, and the chance to see how a shoe really should fit, or what is the best shoe for your type of running style. However, outside of Boulder and a few other select areas of the country that have a high % of runners, does everyone agree that we the running population, are a very small % of this country of consumers?

Doug E. wrote:

spoken like an owner wrote:

I like to try on shoes before I buy them... and that's the only time I set foot in specialty running stores anymore. I try on a couple pairs, thank them for their help, and go order them online.

That is a really jerky thing to do! Buying replacement shoes online is one thing, but if you don't even have the decency to buy your first pair from them after they helped you out.....

Also, if you succeed in your goal of running them out of buisness, where will you try your shoes on at?

I agree. I can't stand it when people do this. You can always tell which ones they are right when they come in, too. They usually have a small piece of paper in their hand with the list of the particular shoes Roadrunner Sports recommended they buy online. Then they want us to have them try those shoes on and do the gait analysis bit on the treadmill. After spending up to an hour or so with this person, they claim that they'll "give it some thought" and that they will come back.

Yeah right.

I don't see the specialty stores going under any time soon, at least in my town. Where I live, the team in training type groups are HUGE. Many of them are sponsored by the local running stores. These stores then sell these new runners/walkers every type of shoe and gear imaginable. There's a new crop to sell to every year, too, because most of these folks are the "one and done" marathoners who check it off their list and then move on to other things. As long as team in training and the like are around, the running stores will have plenty of customers.

I worked at a store in Michigan for 5 years or so and made $10 an hour and my store discount was whatever the owner paid (sometimes 10-20% better than wholesale!). It was pretty much the best place to work ever.

It was a TRUE specialty store...1 store, 1 location, 1 owner. None of this Fleet feet style crap.

With very few excpetions (Chicago, for example) all Fleet Feets are true specialty stores... 1 store, 1 location, 1 local owner.

I'm not sure why you have a hostile and bitter tone. I don't think you have ever worked at a running store. The thing that separates people who work in running stores from the people who work in Footlocker is that they are interested in what they are doing. I admit that workers aren't always excited about people coming into the store, but, if you are actually a "real" runner, I can assure you that any worker would be happy to help you find shoes. There are three types of people who come into running stores. First, there are overweight and/or eldery people who have major foot problems and come into the store for expertise that isn't found at major chain stores. These people make workers hate their jobs, but are quick to call the store and complain to the manager if their shoes aren't curing their problems. Thus, workers sell them what they need to avoid getting bitched out by their manager. Second, there are recreational runners who couldn't name any professionals other than Alan Webb but are looking to get the "expert fit" that you previously discussed. These people make up the majority of business (thus providing us with jobs) and, unless they're total assholes, workers won't talk them into buying $160 Air Max pieces of crap. I spend more time talking these people out of buying the most expensive shoes in the store than I do trying to talk them into it. This is much different than Footlocker type stores. Finally, there are the real runners that come into the store. Rarely do they spend more than $100 and they typically get larger discounts than any other customers. While I admit that many of them don't need expertise, they're usually friends with the employees and are generally the high point of any salesman's day.

Not sure why you're so pissed off but, frankly, running store owners don't need you. In my area (one of the most overweight cities in the nation), there is actually a boom in the number of running stores occurring right now.

spoken like an owner wrote:

I like to try on shoes before I buy them... and that's the only time I set foot in specialty running stores anymore. I try on a couple pairs, thank them for their help, and go order them online.

That's an asshole move. I order shoes online too but I have enough decency to not waste their time like that. If you're doing that at big chains like Road Runner, maybe it's not so bad but if you're doing it at a locally-owned store that's been in the neighborhood for decades you're a total jerk. The local running store is where my friends and I were introduced to running. Go f*** yourself.

Well said mrbyan

A lot of store owners and slacker employees post here, I see. Get over yourselves or figure out a way to actually compete with online retailers.

Sentimentality might catch a portion of the market, but not the lion's share.

Eastbay, Holabird, Zappos, and the like own your butts.

dot competition wrote:

A lot of store owners and slacker employees post here, I see. Get over yourselves or figure out a way to actually compete with online retailers.

Sentimentality might catch a portion of the market, but not the lion's share.

Eastbay, Holabird, Zappos, and the like own your butts.

As a former running store owner in the Twin Cities area, I would say that the local running stores may not get the "lion's share" of the running market (whatever that is??), but they certainly get enough to remain fairly profitable and viable. Twenty-five years ago, or more, everyone was predicting the demise of the running store because of mail-order. Didn't happen. Recently, people are predicting the demise of the local running store, because of the "boiler room" internet, mail-order outfits. Won't happen. GOOD running stores will flourish, simply because most runners like the human touch when making a purchase. There is also a sense that a GOOD running store puts a lot back into the community. I know we did. Some cyber business really does nothing but offer a good price, and sometimes that is negated by a wrong fit, color, etc. That "great deal" often becomes a bad deal when shipping back and forth is factored in. At our store, perhaps 30% of our customers enjoyed team/club discounts of 10-25%, which made our prices CHEAPER than the cyber-boys. We basically took away much of the only advantage they had (price). Even the regular walk-in customer, not on a team or club, could take advantage of specials and close-out shoes. Our store continued to grow, despite more stores opening and the on-slaught of the internet business. It continues to grow (albeit more slowly in these tough economic times.)

Regarding the "dick" who gets some pleasure out of getting sized for shoes at the local store and ordering on-line. It's the old 1% rule in just about anything: one percent of any given population will be "dicks" like this clown. The "dick" should realize that most running store owners and employees are wise to the "dick" and laugh their butts off when he/she leaves to go "think about it"...yeah. Bottom line: there are plenty of GOOD customers out there who value the experience of the running store employees and support the store very well. Most running stores in our area are doing quite well and will continue to do so, as long as they put back into the community.

I wish all local operations nothing but the best, but I've got to wonder if maybe this second running boom is going to come to an end with the coming recession. I've been away from running for a long time, so I'm sort of shocked at how overweight and slow so many runners are these days. I question their real commitment to the sport. I would speculate that if money gets tight, going to out of town marathons will be one of the first things to go.

In a very wealthy suburb of about 30k near me there are two running stores within two blocks of each other. One is a New Balance store, and is not just running, and the other is a local running gear only store. They have been there for years and seem to do well. I think this is the market that has the best chance to make it in the future. The runners around here are slow as can be, but they have no problem dropping lots of money on the very best stuff. Seems to be an ego/status thing for the most part. In fact they may be the best equipped slow people in the country.

As for the original question, two people I've know to work in running stores in the last couple years made in the $8-$10 range.

Hey Steve,

I'm curoius as to why you are no longer a store owner? Was it strictly a financial move since the store was still making money or was it due to a certain "Running" Room moving into the area. I see they are going into West des Moines, Iowa in March. Hopefully they don't succeed and leave the area as soon as they came in...

Yes, recession is a concern for all running retailers, including internet and mail-order that need such a huge base of customers to survive. I remember the stock market crash in 1987, and several of my customers were very concerned for my running business, because as they put it: "Who's going to buy running gear when they are out of a job?" I have to admit that had me worried, yet 1987 turned out to be a decent year for the store.

You are definitely correct about the profile of today's jogger/runners. There are significantly more people participating in the sport today than when you were probably running, but there has been a noticeable decline in performances at all distances 5k to marathons. This has been documented, and I can remember heated discussions in the 1970s about shutting off the timing clock at 4 hours for our local marathon. It was felt that 4 hours was plenty of time to complete a marathon! Today, I believe the median time for all marathon finishers in the U.S. is approaching 4 1/2 hours. Although, on average, times have slowed, the increased number of participants has made it possible for many running retailers to thrive. How long will this second running boom last...who knows? STEVE

CTWRunner wrote:

Hey Steve,

I'm curoius as to why you are no longer a store owner? Was it strictly a financial move since the store was still making money or was it due to a certain "Running" Room moving into the area. I see they are going into West des Moines, Iowa in March. Hopefully they don't succeed and leave the area as soon as they came in...

CTWRunner, I sold my running store in 2005, after thirty years in the business. I actually had my best year in 2005, so it wasn't due to the Running Room entering the Twin Cities market in 2001. Just had a good buyer and it was time, I guess. The running business was very good to me, not that it was always easy. The customers, employees and shoe reps were great, and at times, I miss that. I'm sorry to hear that the Running Room is expanding into W. Des Moines. They will add nothing to that market, except you will see a lot of "butt-flapper" jackets (my term) on some very slow-moving people. I assume a "Walking Room" will follow as it did here. We had concerns when they opened in Minneapolis, simply because they have so much money behind them, that it would almost be impossible for them to fail. Their stores are a total joke; we hired several ex-R.R employees who had us in stitches telling us R.R. stories of ineptness. Yet, they have a lot of influence with shoe companies because of their many, many stores in Canada (where they are disliked as well by knowledgeable runners). They will NOT put a good running store out of business, even though they tend to put up a lot of storefronts. There may be a temporary drop in sales, but eventually they will become less and less of a factor. One thing they do well is to get the beginners into the sport (their niche), and eventually those beginners figure R.R. out and go to real running stores. No question, though, they can be annoying...and they will not go away! STEVE

i work at a specialty running store. Im in college and get paid minimum wage but the benefits far outweigh the salary. Most of the shoe companies i can get wholesale price on any of their shoes and i get 20 percent off anything in the store. The store i work at is privatly owned by a young couple heavily envolved in the local running community. Because of that i am able to get a comp entry to any of the races around the county even the big ones since we work expos. The owners train each individual and we shadow the manager who works at the store full time for a good month or two till they even let us on our own to perform shoe fittings. We do a gait analysis on each individual who comes into the store seeking to buy shoes so we know that they are in the right shoe. Our prices are comparable with sports authority, finishline, footlocker ect. We have only one store and it does well. Working at a specialty store is a great experiance and since we employe individuals who are active in the running community its a good time to be at work. Of course you can go online and buy some shoe 10 dollars cheaper and we get the individuals who will come in here and we will perform a gait analysis and fit them. We wont allow them to write down the name of the shoe or what model it is. If they want to we will put their name and the shoe that we fit them in into the computer so if they do come back we can look them up. So if whoever it is can manage to remember the name of the shoe then thats fine then they just wasted our time and they have to live with themselves. Fact is people need specialty running stores weather you would like to admit it or not. They do a great service for the local running community with putting on races and events. We hold clinics in our store and things of that nature. Most people who know what they want will shop online but those who are new will come see us. Also we do get a great amount of customers who have been recomended by their pidiatrist to come see us to get fitted for shoes. Working at a running specialty store is the best job by far i have ever had.

crackerjo wrote:

We wont allow them to write down the name of the shoe or what model it is.

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How do you prevent them from doing that? Do you break their pencil in half or beat them with a shoe?

we dont tell them or let the name on the box be visible smart ass

crackerjo wrote:

we dont tell them or let the name on the box be visible smart ass

So if I tried on a shoe, liked it, and asked the name, you'd refuse to tell me? I'd walk out of your store and never go back.