ARM Burlingame, CA Storefront.
After the closing of Burlingame’s go-to specialty running store, a local family decided to fill the void by opening A Runner’s Mind (ARM) in 2010. In just three years, their vision was so successful that a second location opened in San Francisco’s Laurel Heights neighborhood. In 2015, ARM was named one of the best running stores in the country by The Running Event trade show. They have been recognized six more times since.
Footwear buyer Derek Wun attributes the notoriety largely to consistency. “We set the bar very high when it comes to our fit process and the guest experience,” he says. “We ingrain that process into our team. Guests can expect that from us.”
ARM carries Brooks, Altra, Asics, and Mizuno. The selection also spans carbon-plated sneakers by Adidas, Hoka, On, New Balance, and Saucony, along with Nike track and field spikes and cross-country flats. A thorough and innovative fit process involves measuring the foot in several places as well as video analysis to break down biomechanics through each plane of motion. It ensures that customers find the shoe best suited to their specific needs.
It’s all a labor of love, according to Wun. “We sell shoes to keep the lights on, but we love the community created by everyone from our loyal group runners to a new runner coming to us for their first 5K to older folks needing comfortable shoes for walking around the neighborhood. It’s all about the people that we’re fortunate enough to serve and work with.”
A Runner’s Mind footwear buyer Derek Wun
Top-selling brands? Asics and New Balance, which are in a resurgence after some down years. Daily trainers are the main drivers—like the 880 and 860 from New Balance and Asics’ Kayano and Nimbus. Asics’ Novablast is also steadily rising.
Best new brand added to your mix recently? Hylo, a UK brand focused on performance running shoes but built in a sustainable manner. Their Impact model has resonated with our community in terms of how it rides, and the sustainability aspect is something we believe in.
Is barefoot/natural motion dead? I don’t think so. While very high-cushioned shoes have expanded their presence over the past few years, principles of barefoot/natural motion are embedded in those styles. Altra, for example, is featuring minimalist ideas in all their shoes—like flexibility, wider and high-volume shoes, and lower heel-to-toe drops. In speaking with brands and shops around the country, we’re guessing that the stack heights of shoes will decrease in the future.
Rank price, brand, performance, and style for customers. Performance, style, brand, price.
Best-selling accessories? Currex insoles.
Core customer? Our Burlingame location is more suburban, so it attracts younger families. We also have a strong high school presence in terms of track and cross-country. Our San Francisco store leans more towards runners in the 25 to 40 age range.
What is your fastest-growing customer segment? That 25- to 40-year-old, young professional. They’re establishing the run club culture across America. They’re serious about training for races as well as seek social interaction. We reach them often through social media and events. Our strong presence in the high school running community also helps.
Anything unique about the Bay Area customer? They prefer neutral tones. We carry a lot of black and white styles. Since Covid, a lot of tech folks wear running shoes to work. They’re all about comfort. Having the cross-functional utilization in cleaner tones works best for them.
What are some of your best community outreach efforts? We work with a lot of running clubs. One of the biggest is Impala Racing, an elite women’s team. We also work with local races, including our Gobble Wobble on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, each store holds a couple of group runs per week. Depending on the time of year, those events attract anywhere from 20 to 50 folks.
How’s business? Very good. Last year was one of our best years, and we’re maybe slightly ahead now. There are a lot of unknowns with tariffs and the economy, so we’re crossing our fingers that our good year continues.
What impact is the trade war having? Not a huge impact yet. Prices are increasing across the board, so it doesn’t help or hurt any particular brand. Also, being in the Bay Area, where price is not the driving factor as much, it hasn’t hit us in terms of sales yet. I’m guessing it’ll hurt brands before it hurts us with supply chain and inventory issues, but maybe that’s just wishful thinking.
What’s the smartest business decision you’ve made this year? Focusing on social media. Specifically, hiring a full-time employee to run it. It’s done wonders for getting our name and products out there. It makes us look even more premium than before.
What’s your biggest challenge? The internet. Everything from people offering all sorts of sales to brands offering a crazy number of colors has been a challenge. The way to overcome that is to continue to do our best to show our guests the value of our knowledge, fit process, group runs, and events versus saving a dollar or two online.
Where do you envision ARM in five years? Still here. We want to be the running stores in the Bay Area. We want to promote and uplift runners and clubs to make our presence known. We also want to help pillar brands address sustainability, a big part of our mission statement. We’ll also be doing what we can to make a positive impact in the Bay Area’s general health movement.
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