Fleet Feet
Inc., the franchisor of running specialty stores, honored many of its
franchises last week at its annual National Franchise Conference held in
Chicago.
One of the
big winners was Lisa and David Zimmer, owners of Fleet Feet Sports Chicago, IL,
who earned Fleet Feet Sports Brand Builder Award. The award honors franchise
for establishing and promoting the Fleet Feet Sports brand in their community
and for contributions to the national Fleet Feet Sports network. The two opened
their first Fleet Feet store in Chicago in 1996 and now have two in the area.
Stephanie
and Carrie Blozy, owners of Fleet Feet Sports Hartford, CT, earned the New
Store Development Award, recognizing successful franchises that have been in
business more than one year and fewer than three years.
Christi
Beth and Matt Adams, of Fleet Feet Sports Brentwood, TN, won the Pinnacle Award
for demonstrating excellence in customer acquisition, staffing & customer
experience, financial & inventory management, and vendor relations.
Among
suppliers, Brooks Sports earned the Supplier of the Year “for providing
excellent product, support and services.” Fleet Feet noted that Brooks
last year became the first brand to do more than $20 million in sales across
its 90-store franchise network.
Saucony
earned the Vendor Service Award in recognition of support and service levels.
Robyn Goby,
director of marketing and communications, was given the Fleet Feet Sports
Ambassador Award that recognizes “an individual for being an outstanding
advocate of the Fleet Feet Sports brand.”
Besides a
trade show with sixty specialty vendors, Fleet Feet attendees also participated
in education and business planning sessions. A particular focus by Fleet Feet
was creating specific business units for training programs in order to
streamline management, grow running participation, drive profitability and further
upgrade the customer’s experience.
“Training programs have
exploded into a major driver for customer acquisition and have helped us evolve
into the inclusive community-focused businesses we are today,” said Jeff
Phillips, president of Fleet Feet. Additional initiatives that were well
received included an interactive online employee training tool, a new brand
website and the introduction of a cloud-based point of sale system.
