Fleet Feet has reopened 170 of its 184 stores in some capacity to strong initial results for many franchisees, according to a profile in Forbes. A decision to build a shared, central e-commerce site for all stores proved to be beneficial as stores were closed.
Jason Jabaut, Fleet Feet’s VP president of digital and franchise operations, told the business publication, “Rather than have a central warehouse or distribution center, we fulfill orders from the local Fleet Feet locations and they earn revenue share for all orders they fulfill.”
The article detailed the franchisees’ pivot to curbside pick-up and Zoom-enabled appointments during the crisis, the benefits of centralized franchise support and how #RunningIsNOTCancelled became a rallying cry for the Fleet Feet community. Some stores reopening are generating over 40 percent growth in their first week.
“There is obviously a lot of pent up demand. And we saw numbers just skyrocket from day one, far exceeding any expectations,” John Moloznik, director of Fleet Feet franchise operations told Forbes. “But we are going to take a calculated approach to how we bring everything back.”
Photo courtesy Fleet Feet Asheville, NC
