When Future Track Running Center opened in January of 1998, owner Bill Duley, a former Agoura High School cross country and track coach, figured that the school’s runners would make up the bulk of the store’s clientele. Nearly a decade later, however, the store is popular with adult marathon runners, the elderly and the podiatric community, among others. The store has arguably garnered such a wide range of clients because of the background of those who work there. “We’re all endurance athletes. Most of us have coached high school or adult groups,” said Steve McQuaide, Future Track’s director of sales and marketing. In particular, Duley has 27 years of coaching beginning and advanced runners from the youth level to the Olympic Trials Qualifiers. Seven years ago, he was named a National Top High School track coach. The fact that Duley and the Future Track staff as a whole are so intimately acquainted with the sport from various vantage points gives the running center an edge over competitors, McQuaide believes. “A lot of us have studied kinesiology and exercise science,” he explained. “It really comes down to our knowledge, not only in the sport of running or walking but in basic biomechanics.” When customers walk into Future Track, they don’t simply pick out a pair of shoes and leave. Instead, they have a consultation with the store’s staffers. Such was the case with Robert Owen, a senior citizen from Moorpark who recently visited Future Track with his wife, Verna, in tow. “We never have had anybody put our shoes on like that or watch our walk,” Robert Owen told McQuaide as the latter fitted him for a pair of running shoes. “A doctor recommended that we come here. We’ve sent a lot of people your way.” Asked why his doctor told him to visit Future Track, Owen cited the reputation of the staff. “They know what they’re talking about,” he said. “They’re, in a sense, professionals, and they’re trained.” McQuaide said that podiatrists routinely recommend Future Track because they realize that running shoes are often the most technical shoes available to the general public. “They need somewhere to send patients,” he said. Future Track sells a number of items for podiatric use, such as heel cushions with pain relieving support by Powerstep and toe protectors by Maverick Sports Medicine. A model skeletal foot even sits in the area where patrons wait to be fitted. The store also carries items designed to provide back support, treat blisters and heel pain and prevent shin splints. Lastly, Future Track carries The Stick, a product runners can use to break down lactic acid buildup. In addition to accessories with a pain relief focus and apparel, such as sports bras, shorts and caps, Future Track sells nutritional food and drinks, such as Rain, designed specifically for women. Despite the popularity of these products, McQuaide feels that the majority of Future Track clients pay the store a visit because they’re looking to be fitted. He explained how the process works. “We ask them what they’ll be using the shoes for,” McQuaide said. “We ask about their injury history. We look for blisters and callouses.” McQuaide said that the running industry typically categorizes shoes for three types of people,those with neutral or high arches and stability, those with medium to high arches with flexibility and those with flat or low arches and extreme flexibility. When examining a client’s foot, the staff will determine which of the 150 models by the 15 brands it carries is most suitable. Nike, Adidas, Saucony, Asics and Brooks are among the shoes featured in the store. Shoes range from $80 to $165, but, on average, Future Track shoes are $90 to $95, with discounts for training groups and student organizations, McQuaide said. So what happens if a customer with Asics feet insists on wearing Nike shoes? “Usually, we’ll let the shoes do the talking,” McQuaide said. In most cases, customers choose comfort over brand recognition, he continued. They’ll say, “I thought I was a Nike, but these Asics feel the best,” McQuaide said. During fittings, staffers also demonstrate a lacing technique to hold heels in place, so there is not as much pressure on the top of the foot. The technique involves looping laces through the back of a shoe’s uppermost eyelets and crisscrossing them. The expertise that staffers share with customers is one of the reasons Woodland Hills resident Natalia Acosta patronizes the store. Acosta, a teacher at Horace Mann Middle School in South Los Angeles, participates in an organization called Students Run L.A., the goal of which is to help at-risk students train for and complete the Los Angeles Marathon. “I have been a Future Track customer for about a year. My boyfriend has been shopping there for about five years now. He is a personal trainer, so he refers all of his clients,” she stated. “I like going there because of their personal service. I like how they look at your foot and decide what kind of shoe would be best for you. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the needs of runners. It seems like everyone that works there is an experienced runner, which is comforting to me.” McQuaide attributes Future Track’s popularity mostly to a word-of-mouth campaign, as evidenced by Owen’s doctor and Acosta’s boyfriend, alike. “It just kind of happened naturally,” McQuaide said of the store’s success. Now, however, the store is considering launching a more proactive marketing campaign that would involve newspaper advertisements and the sponsorship of races and other running-related events. To date, the store has hardly struggled by relying almost exclusively on word-of-mouth referrals. McQuaide, who has worked for Future Track for a total of three-and-a-half years, has seen the store evolve even in that short time. “When we first opened, we were in the building next door,” which is three times smaller than Future Track’s present location. “We were outgrowing the store,” he said. “We didn’t have the inventory space to match the demand.” SPOTLIGHT: Future Track Year Established: 1998 Location: Agoura Hills Revenues in 2005: $1.255 million Anticipated Revenue in 2007: $ 1.380 million Employees in 2005: 8 Employees in 2006: 8
