Brooks wants to be a billion dollar company

And according to Nick Symmonds and Jesse Williams and Danny Mackey are willing to throw all runners under the bus to make it happen.

I really appreciate Danny standing up to the CEO. It shows that he is willing to do the right thing even if it costs him his job.

OnePieceToe wrote:

Can you blame them for wanting to make money? But how will it effect their product?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-01-03/why-brooks-needs-runners-who-hate-to-run

affect is the word you're looking for

So you try and sell running shoes to people who don't actually run? Who wear them to go down the pub? Didn't Adidas go down this road in the 1980s and'90s? And didn't it take them a very long time before they were considered a serious running brand again?

Brooks could be making a big mistake here. They make some very good shoes some not so good (like all shoe companies!) surely they should concentrate on improving them even more? Then they will sell shedloads to "real" runners!

Warren Buffett, the same man who says stay away from bitcoin, owns Brooks through Berkshire

Letsrun says bitcoin is a better investment though

I'll say this for Adidas: their equipment line in the mid-90s was incredible. I wore the equipment cushion for several years and still consider it to be one of the finest trainers ever made.

Easy... BrooksCoin

Buffahol wrote:

Warren Buffett, the same man who says stay away from bitcoin, owns Brooks through Berkshire

Letsrun says bitcoin is a better investment though

Buffett told Brooks, "Just make the brand stronger" when he bought them, right?

Here's how Brooks is doing the opposite:

1) They sell primarily through specialty running stores

2) Specialty running store sales people are almost exclusively serious runners

3) Recent actions by Brooks are upsetting serious runners

4) Serious runners are soured to the Brooks product and are more likely to recommend something else

I worked at a specialty store through college. I sold A LOT of Brooks shoes. But if I worked in a shoe store today, I would be steering folks away from them.

E. Bonix wrote:

affect is the word you're looking for

Thanks! For a moment, I wondered if any one else caught that.

Ok, I got it, thanks!

As I said on the identical thread from yesterday, Brooks needs to bring back the T7. All will be forgiven.

Thank you,

A T7 fan.

I think Brooks needs to branch out to continue their success. As Adidas and Nike are on full on assault to make running shoes for serious runners, Brooks won’t be able to keep up. Adidas shoes with Boost has been a game changer. Now, Nike has totally revamped their lineup where Pegasus, Elite, and Vomero are so much better than what is used to be. And Nike’s got the 4% Vaporfly and Zoom Fly as well.

So now, Nike and Adidas actually make better shoes for serious runners than Brooks and 1000 times more stylish, they will continue to lose market share to serious runners so this branching out to non runners is their Hail Mary that’ll probably end badly...

That would be nice if they brought the T7 back. I have 2 from 2014 that I haven't used yet. The genius of Carson Caprara was the demise of the T7, he wanted to create his own shoe and make a name for himself within the company... It's too bad.

OnePieceToe wrote:

That would be nice if they brought the T7 back. I have 2 from 2014 that I haven't used yet. The genius of Carson Caprara was the demise of the T7, he wanted to create his own shoe and make a name for himself within the company... It's too bad.

If they are truly unused and are size 10.5, I will buy them off you.

Unused but they are size 10... sorry.

dad bod wrote:

Buffahol wrote:

Warren Buffett, the same man who says stay away from bitcoin, owns Brooks through Berkshire

Letsrun says bitcoin is a better investment though

Buffett told Brooks, "Just make the brand stronger" when he bought them, right?

Here's how Brooks is doing the opposite:

1) They sell primarily through specialty running stores

2) Specialty running store sales people are almost exclusively serious runners

3) Recent actions by Brooks are upsetting serious runners

4) Serious runners are soured to the Brooks product and are more likely to recommend something else

I worked at a specialty store through college. I sold A LOT of Brooks shoes. But if I worked in a shoe store today, I would be steering folks away from them.

The Glycerin. The Ghost. The Launch. Yeah, they're awful (insert major sarcasm). I work in a running store in the Midwest. I still sell them all day long. Nikes are too narrow, don't sell nearly as many of them as I do the Brooks brand. Oh well.

Hmm...doubling your business in a flat to down market by alienating your entire current customer base? I thought they were the company that embraced hobby joggers? Now they tell them they are not even runners? And they tell those of us who are passionate about the sport that running is not even a sport? I don't really get it, their competitors must be happy.

The T series is my favorite Brooks line of all time. They are out of their minds if they think this new Hyperion incarnation is comparable. RIP. Now I have to wear junk like the Adidas Adios and New Balance 1400. The T series really owned the niche for minimal shoes with a traditionally high offset, which was less of a niche and more of a huge demographic that nobody else was servicing and now there's like a complete void of products that meet the same criteria.

Midwest Runner13 wrote:

Buffett told Brooks, "Just make the brand stronger" when he bought them, right?

Here's how Brooks is doing the opposite:

1) They sell primarily through specialty running stores

2) Specialty running store sales people are almost exclusively serious runners

3) Recent actions by Brooks are upsetting serious runners

4) Serious runners are soured to the Brooks product and are more likely to recommend something else

I worked at a specialty store through college. I sold A LOT of Brooks shoes. But if I worked in a shoe store today, I would be steering folks away from them.

The Glycerin. The Ghost. The Launch. Yeah, they're awful (insert major sarcasm). I work in a running store in the Midwest. I still sell them all day long. Nikes are too narrow, don't sell nearly as many of them as I do the Brooks brand. Oh well.[/quote]

Triumph, Ride, and Zealot are excellent as well, and that's just from the Saucony line. I never said their shoes weren't good (though I've never been a fan of the Ghost). My point is that abandoning serious runners is a bad move. There are quality shoes from other companies that those of us who care about the sport might be more likely to talk up to customers.

I don't get how Brooks has a reputation for selling shoes to "serious" runners..

Brooks Adrenaline - 10oz, stability shoe - basically built for people who are overweight and run 10 min miles at a 5k

Brooks Levitate - 11.3oz... wayyyy too heavy to even consider wearing.

There's a couple good offerings there that would garner my attention like Launch, but I see a lot of shoes geared towards fat / hobby joggers