manualf150 wrote:
They are an OK off shoot company.
Do they hurt local running shops? Yes and no.
My local running shops do not -- I repeat -- do not have a selection like Running Warehouse.
Especially in clothing, like "real" running shorts, tights, jackets, etc. I've walked into my local running shop, and they admire what I wear... asking me where I got it from. 95% of the time it's from RW.
However, it does draw some competition -- I bought some Brooks GTS19 from my local running store, and they wanted $15 more. I told them that I was just there to window shop, and I'm not paying $15 more plus tax when I can wait 2 days to get them from California. They dropped them down to less than what RW would have charged me by $5. They took a hit, but they know that I might come back. Might is the key word!
But again, they don't have anything in that store that I'm interested in. They don't even have any 1-3" running shorts ever in stock. Never any long or short guys tights (plenty of womens tights). Jackets are eh... but again, too high priced. Some have been sitting there for 3+ years, mostly because they are ugly styles that no one wants.
What people don't realize is Running Warehouse is not it's "own" business, it's a conglomerate of other "DBAs" like Tennis Warehouse, Ice Warehouse, Derby Warehouse, Riding Warehouse.... and a couple others.
So when people say Running Warehouse, it's really DBA Running Warehouse, which is actually owned by Sports Warehouse (parent company). They actually bought out Copelands Sports for $6 million back in 2008. The actual Sports Warehouse CEO and Co-owner is Mark Sczbecki. Their two main DBAs (most profitable) are Running Warehouse and Tennis Warehouse.
With giants like Amazon, for example, it can make the waters rough for Sports Warehouse. There are a lot of times when I'm comparing clothing and shoes, and find out that Amazon has the same thing for slightly cheaper with Prime shipping and free returns.
Though you do need to be careful that some items come directly from Amazon and not from a reseller. All in all, I've had a rather decent experience with Amazon.