How Brooks harnessed the run club boom to generate record-breaking revenue

It’s been a great year for brands that sell shoes and other gear to runners.  Brooks Running, which is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, disclosed earlier this month that it ended 2024 with record global revenue, up 9% year-over-year. The company did not disclose exact revenue numbers. “We’re now in our 25th year of growth. Over that 25 years, we've grown approximately 15% compounded,” said Dan Sheridan, CEO of Brooks. “I think it's an outcome of this incredible, sharp focus we have on the category of run that has mass appeal to anybody that really moves.” Sheridan joined this week’s Modern Retail Podcast and spoke about Brooks’s 2024 performance and how the brand is setting itself up for growth in the years to come. There have been different types of running booms over the years, Sheridan said. “In the early 2000s, the running boom was centered on a broader approach and invited walkers and people that just wanted to be active.” Right now, Sheridan said, Brooks is benefitting from the post-pandemic running boom, which is being led by Gen Z.  This generation, Sheridan said, is getting into running earlier. They are also trying to balance the mental, physical and social aspects of their life differently.  “Run clubs are the new dating app. It's where you're finding your mate. And people are choosing run clubs over going to the bar. And we see that in Gen Z. They're they're drinking less; alcohol sales are down. … So we think this next generation is a running boom for our industry.”  International sales, too, are fueling Brooks’s growth. Sales in China, in particular, grew 228% year-over-year.