Matthew Dodge, Managing Director EMEA of Brooks Running talks to Fusion Associates about what makes a great running shoe and their empathetic and collaborative approach to supporting their retail partnerships during the Covid-19 crisis.
In conversation with Alex Pescott, CEO at Fusion Associates.
Tell us a little about yourself and about Brooks Running
For those who may not be familiar with Brooks, we are quite an old company. Brooks was founded in 1914 in the US, so we are 106 years old. Brooks started out as an all sports category manufacturer and over the years morphed into what we are today, which is a maker of industry-leading performance running gear. We narrowed our focus to performance running in 2001 and have been exclusively bringing running shoes, running bras, apparel and accessories to the market ever since with a clear purpose to inspire everyone to run their path to a better self. That is why we exist as an organization, and it’s an incredibly rewarding purpose to bring alive.
My path to Brooks was via the road less traveled. I began my career as a business lawyer in Seattle with a practice focused on technology and IP-related transactions. In 2012 I started working with Brooks as outside counsel, which gave me the chance to get to know the brand, business and team. I fell in love with the company and moved over to Brooks in 2013. Prior to starting my current role as Managing Director of EMEA I had the privilege of leading both the Legal and HR functions in our Global Headquarters in Seattle, so I’ve been very fortunate to have diverse and interesting career growth opportunities at Brooks.
Brooks has won many accolades over the years for its running shoes including being chosen in Germany as the N°1 running brand of the year by SAZ magazine 2 years running. What makes a great running shoe?
Our focus at Brooks is to create the best running gear, tools and experiences to move runners along their path. When it comes to building running shoes, our efforts are grounded in: (1) solving for the biomechanical needs of runners; and (2) enabling more choice in the type of experience that runners want. Stated simply, it’s about solving for both the “needs” and “wants” of runners. On the “needs” side of the equation, through our extensive R&D explorations we’ve developed the point of view that the way to enhance comfort and improve performance on the run is to work with the runner’s natural preferred motion path of his or her joints. It is a holistic view of the body in motion. And we all run differently, there is no “right” way to run from a biomechanical perspective.
This is our Run Signature Philosophy, and it represents a paradigm shift in thinking within our industry which has long focused on trying to solve specifically for ankle pronation. Our approach provides a science-based foundation for our shoe building efforts. When it comes to “wants” it is all about enabling runners to choose the experience they want, regardless of their unique biomechanical needs. Some may want to feel soft cushioning when they strike the ground while others may want maximum energy return to propel their run.
We want all runners to be able to choose their preferred experience on the run regardless of how they run. Getting this equation right allows us to offer the best fit, feel and ride for your run.
In 2019 Brooks Sports reported a sales increase of 18 percent in the EMEA region, led by the UK, DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and France. How has the Covid-19 crisis impacted the business and how has Brooks adapted and to what degree have growth projections had to be revised over the short and medium term?
What a wild ride it’s been over the past several months. We are not unique in the sense that the COVID-19 crisis has been disruptive for everyone in our ecosystem – our team, retailer partners, runners and the running community. And like everyone else, we were forced to react to the disorienting and rapid changes to all aspects of daily life that the pandemic brought. When I step back and consider the scale and speed of the pandemic’s impact, I’m filled with empathy for all the lives negatively impacted.
At Brooks we took quick action early during the crisis to adjust our plans. We pivoted to a new operating mode with a focus on (1) keeping our teams healthy, (2) staying connected with runners and retailers and (3) business management agility. This focus came straight from our values; we are a human to human brand and thrive on connecting with people. Our pivot led to the creation of several new digital programs that we quickly translated from idea into execution. We launched a #RunHappyAtHome social campaign to inspire runners and our employees to stay active and connected while sheltering at home, which reached over 5 million runners in Europe. We also donated 7,000 pairs of shoes to healthcare workers throughout Europe as a small thank you for the heroic work being done to combat the pandemic and save lives.
From a business perspective, we came into the pandemic with strong brand momentum and feel incredibly fortunate because through this disruptive phase we’ve experienced increased demand. When European countries began to implement lockdowns starting in March our near-term outlook was initially pessimistic. But we quickly saw in April that people were choosing to run. Running has always been a natural antidote to stress, and people increasingly turned to running during the pandemic in pursuit of physical exercise, endorphins and other benefits. That gave us the opportunity to again pivot back to a focus on fulfilling demand and helping runners find the best gear for them. While stores were closed, we saw the demand shift to digital channels, including BrooksRunning.eu and our best multi-channel retailers.
Fast forward to today and we are fulfilling demand through our broader retail network, both online and in store. While much uncertainty remains regarding how COVID-19 will evolve and what that will mean for our business operations, we are thankful to have the opportunity to continue introducing our brand to more and more runners in Europe and do our part to help runners on their path to personal betterment. And humility requires an acknowledgment of our good fortune to be in the run category.
Several sporting goods firms have announced initiatives to support their retail partners during the crisis. What support is Brooks providing its retail partners?
Supporting our retail partners was a key focus for us as stores temporarily closed throughout Europe. Our sales teams do an incredible job building long-term relationships with retailers, and that helped us approach the situation with an empathetic and collaborative mindset. We took several steps early in the crisis to provide support, including offering dating on accounts receivables, accommodating order book changes, shifting product launch dates and offering to direct ship product to consumers who purchased from our retailers at our cost during the lockdown phase. But I think what ultimately helped our retailers the most was our ability to react quickly to their shift from needing support to weather the storm to needing more Brooks gear when the lockdowns ended and they saw an upswing in traffic. The velocity of that change to the upside placed a heavy burden on our logistics teams but we have been able to effectively deliver into the market, which in turn has enabled our retailers to quickly resume business.
Brooks recently announced a 3-year partnership with parkrun. Can you tell us a little bit about that partnership and what it means for Brooks?
Yes, in February of this year – which at this point feels like a lifetime ago – we kicked off a 3-year partnership with parkrun to be their official footwear sponsor in the UK and Ireland. Parkrun is a grass roots organization based in the UK with a simple and powerful recipe for promoting inclusiveness and wellbeing. They host free running, jogging and walking events every Saturday for all comers that are organized by volunteers. Parkrun is a major phenomenon in the UK and Ireland, which I think is attributable to their ability to provide an experience that satisfies our basic needs of inclusion, belonging and community. Today we need those kinds of constructive and fulfilling experiences more than ever.
It’s so easy to get pulled into siloes of derivative – and ultimately shallow – experiences. Parkrun is the antithesis of that and gives so much back to people. This is the first-time parkrun has aligned with a running footwear brand, and we are thrilled about this opportunity given our shared values and beliefs. Due to the pandemic we’ve had to delay our planned activations at parkrun events this year, but our enthusiasm about this partnership remains as high as ever. We view our engagement with parkrun as a long-term investment in the running community; parkrun is a key steward and cultivator of the broader running community. As a purpose driven brand we feel a great sense of responsibility and pride in being able to support organizations like parkrun that are out there doing the important work of providing an environment for people to be active and build community.
Over the years the company has been recognized for its environmental sustainability programs and technical innovation. Please tell us a little about these?
As we operate our global business, we inherently impact people and places. More than 100 million people run outside, so it’s critical that we do our part to help care for the planet. We’ve organized our efforts to reduce our environmental impact around three key pillars: (1) product sustainability, (2) climate action and (3) responsible sourcing.
A few key achievements in 2019 included diverting more than 22 million plastic bottles from landfills and oceans by switching to recycled polyesters in our gear and completing our first carbon footprint measurement across the entire global product lifecycle. This carbon footprint measurement was a big step forward and will enable us to set Science Based Targets to meet the 2030 Goals of the Paris Agreement.
Another major sustainability initiative came in 2014 when we decided to move into our new global headquarters in Seattle as part of a “deep green” pilot program introduced by the city to promote increased sustainability for buildings and landscapes. Our building is amazing; it is designed to use 75% less energy and water than a typical office building of its size and has achieved LEED Platinum and ENERGY STAR certifications. For context, an average building of the same size would use around 3.8 million gallons of water per year. Our target is to use no more than 955,000 gallons annually, and in our first year of measurement we beat our maximum usage target by 27%. The building is in the top echelon of energy efficiency globally and we are proud to call it home. And all our efforts in this domain are underscored by a commitment to transparency.
We publish a thorough Corporate Responsibility performance summary on our website each year to provide visibility for our customers and wider stakeholders on our goals and progress. We know that we have much work ahead of us to continue reducing our environmental impact and look forward to making continued progress.
About Brooks Running
Brooks Running Company sells its performance footwear, apparel, run bras, and accessories in more than 50 countries worldwide. Brooks’ purpose is to inspire everyone to run their path to a better self by creating innovative gear designed to keep runners running longer, farther and faster. This purpose is supported by Brooks’ Run Happy philosophy, a quest to celebrate and champion the sport of running and all runners everywhere. Founded 1914, Brooks is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and is headquartered in Seattle with their EMEA office based in Amsterdam.
About Fusion Associates
Since 1998, Fusion Associates has been placing experienced professionals across the globe within consumer markets including consumer goods, fashion, sporting goods, healthy living and luxury.
Environmental, humanitarian, social and political concerns are close to the Partners both in and out of the business. We pride ourselves in partnering with industry leaders who wish to contribute to a better, more sustainable future. Working with global companies that are at the forefront of innovating and integrating sustainability into the heart of their business, we have helped build purpose-led teams from leadership to subject experts in biodiversity and animal welfare.