Can Podiatrist-Owned Running Shoe Stores Work?

This author shares his experience with owning two running shoe stores, offering tips to get this business off the ground and how it can help increase referrals for a podiatry practice.

For half of my 24-year career as a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, I have had the unique experience to have owned two independent running retail specialty stores. For years, I have heard, listened to and read of the importance of establishing a friendly and working relationship as a podiatrist with your local running stores. All have held merit but I want to give my firsthand experience for our colleagues about the pros and cons of being a podiatrist in a busy practice and simultaneously building a “brand” with my shop, the Achilles Running Shop, which has two locations.

In 1977, I received my first pair of $25 Nike Cortez as I prepared for my introduction to track and field as a junior high school athlete. From that point on, I was hooked on running shoes and always took immaculate care of all my shoes. Throughout high school, college and after college, I watched how the running shoe market kept exploding and kept my eye out for all the new technical advances.

As I moved into collegiate coaching as a graduate student and attended the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, I was fortunate to be part of the University of Pennsylvania men’s track and field team. At that time, the team was sponsored by Adidas and the team wore the Adidas Torsion brand of running shoe. This was much different from the Nike shoes I ran in in the past and I was intrigued by this new concept of shoe, which I enjoyed running in. My background in athletics and exercise physiology led me to loving the field of biomechanics and sports medicine. At that point early on in my career, I decided that one day I wanted to somehow be involved with athletes, coaching, running shoes and helping athletes get back on the field.

I completed my residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Boston. While I was there, I was able to help coach at Boston College and Harvard University. I continued to stay in shape by running and lived two miles from the New Balance headquarters. I would spend hours in the factory and store examining the shoes, not only the fabrication of the shoes but the science and artistry behind it. With New England having a strong passion for running, many running stores started to pop up and on my limited time off, I would explore all the stores in New England. My continued desire to be involved in the shoe business was cemented with my time in Boston.

Fast forward to 2006. I completed my orthopedic surgical fellowship and became a partner at my current practice. I was fortunate to become a team doctor to seven high schools, coach at a local high school and start my own track club in which we worked with athletes of all ages. As my practice continued to flourish and I would send patients to the big box stores, they would come back and be upset at me that they would spend a great deal of money, and sales representatives did not know anything about their sport and shoes. The shoes did not help the patients and quite frankly were poor quality shoes. Therefore, I started visiting local running stores. I became a routine visitor and started to learn the specialization of the business and shoes. A light went off in my head.

I thought, “Hey, I am a podiatrist who knows running, athletics, biomechanics, shoes and the foot surgically. Who better than me to sell people shoes and get them into the proper shoes to help them?” This should be easy because my exposure to medical and orthopedic reps and products is plentiful, helpful and easy. After persuading my wife, we blindly (to be frank) jumped into opening a store.

A Closer Look At The Challenges Of Getting A Running Store Off The Ground

As an athlete, if you don't prepare to race, you usually will get hurt or injured. Being a physician, surgeon and not a trained business person made for some major obstacles to clear. Established stores had a strong arm on the local sales reps from the running companies and kept new stores from opening up. It took almost three years to get the top major brands (Nike, Adidas, ASICS, New Balance, Brooks, Saucony, Mizuno) in our store and that required calling every three months to let them know how we were doing. Therefore, we started with second-tier shoe lines and if not for connections in the track world, I don’t think we would have gotten any of the lines. It took us opening a second store in another state 80 miles away to be considered a “real” store. Then and only then did we get the seven major brands.

As we obtained the big brands, the issue became how to order and what to order. The reps, who are paid on commission, would advise and instruct you to order the latest and greatest. Accordingly, our inventory was massive, and approaching seven figures in cost annually. In the retail world, if the store doesn’t sell a pair of shoes or merchandise in six months, then every day the shoe sits on the shelf, the store has lost money. Also, one needs to have a crystal ball as the store must place orders one year before the store receives them. Then there is an issue of how many particular shoes to order and in what sizes. The conundrum is the greater the number of shoes one orders, the deeper the discount but the greater the inventory, the higher the risk of losing money for the business. I would equate this practice to investing in the commodities and the stock market.

At the beginning of this decade, there was a tidal wave of minimalist shoes and these shoes were completely different from the traditional shoes that were already on the shelf. Every company had its own version and discerning which minimalist shoes to purchase was mind boggling. That wave crashed about two years ago. Now there is a movement of maximalist shoes and the question becomes how long this wave will be around until the next invasion of a new type of shoe in five to 10 years.

Perhaps the biggest elephant in the room is the incredulous growth of online shopping, which is debilitating the brick and mortar stores. As it took almost a decade to become initially proficient as a podiatrist, learning the business side of things with the running stores took years as well. The formula to success is perseverance, studying and correcting previous mistakes. With this company, we have been able stave off all the negatives, build our brand and grow the business. We have become proficient with future orders and staying true to the “meat and potatoes” of our shoe lines and sizes. We have been selective and cautious on what new trends of shoes to bring into our stores and how many. We maximized our social media presence and established deep networks with our local running clubs, podiatrists, therapists, sports doctors, orthopedists, chiropractors and community businesses. Most of all, we learned the trends of the different store locations and our customers.

How The Running Store Business Expanded

At first, I felt uneasy about letting patients know I owned running stores but then I realized if people want to get the best shoes to help their conditions, then why not send them to the place that will pay attention to their needs, listen, provide the best service possible and impart the most up-to-date knowledge for them? As time went by, the majority of my patients were responding well with the “Achilles Fit Process” and recovering from their lower extremity overuse injuries as well as surgery. I continued to study biomechanics and more importantly the science behind running shoes. The marriage started to blossom between my practice and the running stores. As word was getting out that the running shop was owned by a podiatrist who actually works the floor and helps customers, my referral numbers continued to increase rapidly with runners, walkers and athletes from near and far traveling to my office.

We continued to expand our brand by providing workshops, special evenings at the shops for the customers and team nights for the local middle and high schools. Routine blogs and video interviews helped with cementing our brand. Sponsorship for road races and track meets was important in marketing, and letting the community know that we support our sport. In addition, we developed a race management subsidy, creating and timing race events. As the outreach portion of our business continued to grow, we developed partnerships with local hospitals, industries, schools and colleges as well as the service departments. We formulated loyal customer programs to also entrench the store with the community and public. Most of all, the advantage of Achilles Running Shop is that having a podiatrist directly available to the public is something no other specialty store can provide or promote.

Switching gears as our orthopedic group continued to flourish, we, like all other independent physicians, came under the attack of managed medical care and insurance companies. I noticed many of my colleagues were divesting their business interests and thinking of ways to acquire other revenue streams. I never thought of Achilles Running Shop as something like that. It has always been something I had a sincere passion for and loved to do. That said, owning the running stores gives me a distinct advantage that if I ever want to retire from podiatry, I would have another less stressful occupation. This is not an easy job by any means but this service-based industry offers direct payment for services opposed to being dictated by third parties, pre-certifications, global periods, payment denials and such.

Final Words

As I look back at both of my careers, I am indebted to all of the experiences and opportunities I have had. From working with children and introducing them to running, coaching high school and collegiate athletes, designing a world class Olympic training site, working and befriending world-class athletes, and traveling the world to elite competitions including the London and Rio Olympic Games, I could not ask for much more. I am humbled by all of the success I have had and know for a fact that without the Achilles Running Shop, my professional career would be left with many voids. However, with all of that said, the most impressive statistic that I am most proud of is that 13 former students or athletes and counting are Doctors of Podiatric Medicine. Some have even worked in our stores during medical school.

If there are colleagues out there thinking about owning a running shop or just want advice on how to establish a relationship with your local running stores, feel free to contact me and I will impart my experience and knowledge to assist you with your future endeavors. At the least, understanding the running shoe business can grow your referrals and ultimately your practice and bottom line.

Dr. Mendeszoon is the owner of Achilles Running Shop in Erie, Pa., and Mentor, Ohio. He is in private practice at Precision Orthopaedic Specialties in Ohio.