Running Shoe Subscription Service

this is obviously a terrible idea.

I would hate it. I'm not saying it's a terrible idea, just that it isn't for me.

I'm one of those runners who likes having something different every time. Part of my enjoyment from running is going to the store, seeing what's new, trying some things on and picking the one that suits me at that time.

I appreciate the feedback.

Wilfred, why wouldn't you like the service?

How do you bill the person? Charge their card each time you send a new pair out? Charge them a thousand dollars one time at the start of the year?

Runners don't wear through shoes at the exact same rate year-round. They do 60 mpw one month and then 80 mpw the next month. They taper and rest. It's up and down.

Here's what I would like to see that I think you could work into your business model. Recognize that this person might be buying 10+ shoes per year from you. Now give them a bulk discount on their subscription because of it. If you can get that longterm commmitment and be competitive with the price, then you might have something successful going on. Virtually nobody is going to pay for the service on the basis that they aren't good about remembering it. Very few consumers make purchasing decisions based on a personal shortcoming, such as bad memory or putting excess miles on shose they know are bad for themselves. Market a product that even savvy runners will want to buy.

Think of newspaper/magazine subscriptions. If not for the deep discount offered over the cover price, people probably wouldn't bother to get them mailed to their house if it's available somewhere else cheaper.

It would be a monthly payment. For instance, if you're on a 5 shoes/year subscription you'll get billed monthly.

There would be an automatic membership discount for subscribing to the service (the bulk discount you suggested).

In response to your comment about tapering/different mileage at different times: There would be an option to accelerate or delay your orders (If you don't want your shoes yet).

sounds interesting, especially since I'm now on my 8th or 9th pair of Brooks Ravennas.

It is very convenient to have shoes shipped to your house. That why Eastbay has been in business for 20 years. The number of people that don't want to take 5 mins to go online and order shoes though is much smaller.It might work as a gift business (think wine of the month, fruit baskets,...) that would allow people that know you are a runner and are out of decent gift ideas to buy you something.

Two questions:

How would you handle changing models, eg someone signs up for a certain brand/model, do you just send the latest iteration of that model or do you consult the client first if theres been an update to the model since his last order?

Where is your profit margin/is your potential customer pool large enough?

Do you expect the profit margin to come from buying shoes bulk and selling them at regular market prices or do you expect to charge a fee for the service, probably a combination of both.

Pretty much the first thing you need to do is find a figure for the number of potential customers, and assume a reasonable usage rate, say 1% of the total pool to start, then find where that leaves you profit wise.

I am skeptical whether the market exists...are there really that many runners going through multiple shoes per year and who aren't already getting their shoes for free/discount due to sponsorship?

I think a monthly payment plan is very clever.

I'm not only including the market of people that run on a daily basis, but also the people the joggers/walkers.

According to market research, there are 33 million runners in the U.S. There are 10 million runners that run more than 160 days a year.

There are a TON of shoe companies, however, there are NO companies that offer a subscription-type business model. The profit margin will come mainly from the markup on the shoes. There is also potential profit selling add-ons such as socks, shorts, tights, ect.

Running shoes are something you pretty much purchase on a regular basis, this makes the process easier.

There would have to be a system where we notify the customer of the new model, how it changed ect. This also makes the process easier rather than having to shop online and go through that type of process.

Sounds fairly promising actually

Personally I think I might be a little hesitant for just the shoes, but the idea of a getting shoes, socks, apparel all together does sound quite attractive.

I didn't know the numbers of regular runners was so high, thats certainly good, 10 million at 160 days a week, all of those people need at the minimum 2 pairs a year I imagine. I'm no expert but with conservative estimates of profit margin and usage rates it seems like theres plenty of room for significant revenue.

I think this is actually a good idea. The pros are you get a discount, convenience, and you know you'll have the shoes you want. Too often you go to the store and the model you want it out of stock. You could add in other products such as energy bars and supplements.

Think of all the times you went shoe shopping. How many pair did you try on? How many times did you buy the first pair you tried on?

Not for me.

I would be your target market as once I find a shoe I like I stick with it until it is discontinued. But I see no advantage of this service over say buying new shoes from Running Warehouse whenever my current pair wears out.

The only way this service will work is if you can offer STEEP discounts. If Running Warehouse offers the Nike Pegasus for $70 with free shipping then you would have to offer them for say one pair every two months at a monthly bill of $25.

Also it would seem to me that the more you run, the less you should pay per pair because the more shoes you will be buying.

Perhaps you can tie it into an on-line traiing log that keeps track of the mileage of your shoes?Over time, (with your delay delivery feature), you will see the pattern of each individual. Some will request shoes at 800 miles of wear, others more/less.I enjoy going into the LRS and seeing, trying new pairs. I need to try on the new 'zero-drop' (as discussed in RT) shoes before I would order my 2nd pair on-line.Interesting idea though.

shoescription wrote:

I'm not only including the market of people that run on a daily basis, but also the people the joggers/walkers.

According to market research, there are 33 million runners in the U.S. There are 10 million runners that run more than 160 days a year.

There are a TON of shoe companies, however, there are NO companies that offer a subscription-type business model. The profit margin will come mainly from the markup on the shoes. There is also potential profit selling add-ons such as socks, shorts, tights, ect.

Running shoes are something you pretty much purchase on a regular basis, this makes the process easier.

There would have to be a system where we notify the customer of the new model, how it changed ect. This also makes the process easier rather than having to shop online and go through that type of process.

I wouldn't go for it because detest monthly bills. You want me to sign up for ANOTHER one?! No way. I'll just buy the shoes I want, when I want.

Whaddya do when the shoe the customer has signed up for is no longer directly available but can still be found by scouring the internet? You gonna do that as part of the service, maybe buy 5 pair and stockpile them for the runner?

Interesting idea.

The "Xerox copier" model for running shoes.

I submit the monthly tally for our office copy machines we rent. The machines have auto replenishment of toner, etc and we budget an exact amount at the beginning of each year, knowing that if a copy machine suddenly breaks we won't have to fork over $8,000 for a new one - Xerox has us up and running within 24-48 hours with not only a working machine, but the newest model available at the time.

You've got a couple of advantages/opportunities and a couple of serious drawbacks to the running shoe subscription model.

Remember, your customer will not subscribe unless there's something in it for him.

Advantages for the runner: Get him the latest model of nike, asics before they come out. Give him assurance that if his shoe has only 50 miles and the bottom suddenly peels off, he gets a new pair. Give him free shoe co. extras. If I am running in the nike vomero, I want the vomero 6 before anybody else gets theirs. I want access to exclusive online logs, iPhone apps etc. I want a nike personal fit assessment each year.

Drawbacks for the runner: He already knows he's spending $350+ a year on running shoes before the year even starts. He doesn't want to spend more than he would if he walked into his LRS and bought a great feeling new pair. He often needs shoes at different times, we all know YMMV, not when his personal odometer hits 500 miles.

Advantages for the service: Gets runner hooked. Keep this guy in nikes. Don't let him stray, feed him stickers, social networking crap, the works - free advertising also. If you get him to sign up for multi-month, or even multi-year service, it helps shoe co. and service big time. Secondary co. advertising on the online running log, etc catered to runner will be additional source of income.

Drawbacks for the service: Admin cost, not cheap if you hope to do it right - runners are picky. What happens if runners wants shoe he has, or newest model and it's no longer available or not in his hobbit-footed size? Can you keep the runner satisfied enough to tell his fellow runners. This will work if the "club" or service becomes something that feels exclusive and that won't be easy.

I appreciate the feedback.

I don't know a lot about inventory management as far as online shoe retailing goes, but is there a certain way to drop-ship the orders so I wouldn't need to have a ton of inventory?

Or MUST you have all the inventory in house?

not sure about the inventory question, but i would subscribe!

Don't confuse online versus b&m. B&M is not the competition for this service. The competition is every other online retailer that offers you the ability to buy shoes and other crap from your home. The advantage of this service is you don't have to log in every couple months and hit buy. The disadvantage is that you can get sent shoes you don't want. Now if you could offer significantly lower prices, you might be able to compete. But those online retailers move a lot of volume. I think competing on price will be hard.