21 Jan Brooks Reaches Half a Billion in Annual Sales
Brooks Running posted a 15 percent increase in revenue growth year-over-year in 2014, reaching a half a billion dollars in annual sales. The gains were driven by a 13 percent increase in U.S. footwear sales and a 32 percent increase in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) sales on a local currency basis. Additionally, Brooks Canada clocked in more than 37 percent year-over-year revenue growth since formed as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2014.
The company, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, also moved into a new state-of-the-art global headquarters and celebrated its 100-year anniversary.
According to POS data, Brooks grew its No. 1 market share position at specialty running account stores (SRAs) nationwide for the rolling year (December 2013 through November 2014) to 31 percent in performance running footwear retail dollar share – a noteworthy gain given the channel’s pace drop in running shoe sales driven by declines in men’s and barefoot styles. Brooks’ Ghost 6 shoe held the No. 1 position in the growing neutral footwear category at SRA, where 44 percent of total running shoes sold during the rolling year were neutral styles. Meanwhile at SRA, Brooks’ Adrenaline GTS shoe remained the top choice for runners in its category for the sixth year in a row.
In 2014, Brooks also earned awards from editors, wear testers and industry experts, including:
Editor’s Choice from Runner’s World for the Cascadia 9 and PureGrit 3;
Gear of the Year from Outside magazine for the PureFlow 3;
Best Update from Runner’s World for the PureFlow 3 and Adrenaline GTS 15;
Best Sneaker from Fitness magazine for the Ravenna 5;
Top Debut from Activ Laufen, Germany for the Transcend;
Best Mountain Trail shoe from Endurance magazine, France for the Cascadia 9;
Best on Test from Outdoor Fitness, United Kingdom for the Cascadia 9;
2014 Vendor of the Year from Independent Running Retailers Association (IRRA).
“2014 was indeed a year of milestones for Brooks, and the future of the running lifestyle and marketplace is as bright as ever. We remain committed to being a thought leader in running, evolving our brand to keep pace with runners’ wants and needs and creating relevance mile after mile,” said Jim Weber, CEO of Brooks Running company. “As millions of people around the world make running a key part of their fit, healthy lifestyles, our goal is to be their number one choice for gear.”
Brooks said it aims to continue its momentum in 2015 by further refining its award winning footwear collection, unveiling an all-new performance apparel line and introducing two new styles in the Brooks Moving Comfort Collection of sports bras. The completely overhauled Brooks apparel collection is steeped in runner insight and built from the ground up to meet runners needs on and off the run. It takes design inspiration from simplicity, minimalism and functionality found in Scandinavian culture, yielding timeless pieces that provide ultimate functionality and a clean aesthetic. Mixing art with science, the apparel line utilizes the company’s proprietary DriLayer family of high quality, moisture-wicking fabrics that are optimized to keep runners performing at their best. Meanwhile, the Brooks Moving Comfort Collection will welcome the Uprise Crossback and Uplift Crossback sports bras; two lightweight and versatile crossback styles that provide support and shape in a fashion-forward silhouette.
Brooks formed a Board of Advisors in 2012 to help chart its course in leading the performance running marketplace and becoming the No. 1 choice for runners worldwide and scale globally. Brooks’ Board members include:
Robbie Bach – speaker, author, former President of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division;
Charlotte Guyman – Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Director, former Microsoft General Manager;
Dan Nordstrom – CEO of Outdoor Research, Inc., former senior executive roles at Nordstrom, Inc.;
Deanna Oppenheimer – CEO of CameoWorks, LLC, former Vice Chairman Retail Banking at Barclays PLC.
Brooks is pleased to announce the addition of even more horsepower to its Board of Advisors by welcoming new member Adam Brotman. Chief Digital Officer for Starbucks Coffee company, Brotman brings experience in creating consumer connections in the digital realm at one of the pre-eminent, values-driven experiential brands in the world.