Specialty Retail Development Company (SRDC), Inc., (www.srdcinc.com), a multi-store Fleet Feet Sports franchise affiliated with Fleet Feet Sports Inc., announced the purchase of Phidippides Encino, a top running shop in Los Angeles.
Change of possession will take place on Nov. 1, 2010.
Tom Raynor, Managing Director of SRDC, said, “Phidippides Encino has served the Southern California running community for 30 years and is one of the pioneering, premier specialty stores in the United States.”
Established in 1980 by Charlie and Ava Hoover and Craig Chambers, Phidippides Encino was at the forefront of the first running boom and has been “continuously setting the highest standards for our industry,” Raynor added.
“Phidippides Encino has become a nationally recognized brand because people place a high value on expertise, integrity, knowledge, patience and customer care that extends to everyone who walks in our door, regardless of shape, background, achievements or goals. As Ava and I move forward with other endeavors, we trust that the legacy of Phidippides Encino will live on through Fleet Feet,” said Charlie Hoover.
“We are thrilled and honored to continue the amazing legacy begun by Charlie and Ava Hoover,” said Denise Corey, General Manager of the SRDC.
Trey Barnes, a long time Fleet Feet Sports employee, will head the operations of the store. During his five years with Fleet Feet Sports, Barnes has managed stores in Hickory and Carrboro, NC and has most recently been instrumental in converting the Runner's High in Menlo Park, CA to a Fleet Feet Sports franchise.
The SRDC, which will own 17 stores around the country after the acquisition, was formed in 2007 by Tom Raynor, CEO of Fleet Feet, Inc., and a group of investors to purchase existing specialty stores and provide a path to ownership for employees.
“We will continue to aggressively look for exceptional stores to acquire and exceptional people to run those stores,” Raynor said.
Fleet Feet, Inc. currently has 90 Fleet Feet Sports locations nationwide.
