Point Man On the run with Fleet Feet CEO Joey Pointer. and I need to be as close to the business as possible. I’m in stores regularly, speaking with customers and employees, always looking for ways to improve.” Pointer loves what he sees during his Fleet Feet pop-ins. Take a recent exchange he witnessed at a Tampa, FL, location. The outfitter was working with an elderly female customer who’d been through knee replacement, a broken hip, and three back surgeries. “In addition to assisting her in taking her shoes off and on and lacing them up, he installed new sliders on her walker that she’d bought at a store next door,” Pointer says. “Our people are the secret sauce of our brand. We call them our Day Makers.” Such customer experiences make Fleet Feet unique, according to Pointer. “We’re helping people reach their goals, at every level, surface, and distance. But it’s about more than providing solutions. It’s about our staff ’s inspiration, knowledge, and commitment to go above and beyond in order to create amazing customer experiences,” he says. “It’s about taking the extra time to really connect on a one-on-one basis. It’s that passion and commitment that separates Fleet Feet from everyone else. Ultimately, it’s a level of service and experience that you just don’t get at every retail environment.” Pointer says Fleet Feet’s community-oriented approach is another point of differentiation. The stores serve as meeting places for runners and walkers of all ages and levels to shop for the latest shoes and accessories as well as places to connect. That requires building a corporate culture that empowers local decision-making, which includes franchise owners and company-owned store managers deciding which community partners and events to sponsor. It also involves hiring people who believe it’s a privilege to serve these communities. “We’re community retailers, and I believe the Fleet Feet brand is brought to life by our people, who make us the best national resource for local running,” he says. Christopher Cohen, vice president of sales for Hoka US, says Fleet Feet’s commitment to the communities it serves runs deep and is a “clear strength.” He links the chain’s success to goals that center on what is best for each store, the team, and respective communities. “They take the long view on their business and look to create a sense of community at scale,” Cohen says. “They also have a remarkable service model, placing consumers’ needs at the center of their thinking. This approach goes beyond transactional thinking, leading to consumer trust and loyalty.” In fact, Cohen says one of Fleet Feet’s most unique characteristics, especially for a retailer of its scale, is its ability to run like a local specialty retailer. “Their blended model of both company-owned and franchise doors makes
Joey Pointer loves everything about running. The physical and mental benefits, the camaraderie, and the shoes. And, like any runner (and retailer) worth their salt, he hates losing, which happened during a recent 5K race he entered with his 12-year-old son. As the Pointer family story goes, the son had been talking trash leading up to race day, claiming to be the fastest in the household. So Dad planned to teach him a lesson, setting a killer pace at the gun—one he was sure would leave Junior in the dust. Alas, it didn’t turn out that way. “We crossed mile one and he said, ‘Dad, I can’t keep this pace.’ And I thought, ‘Where’d he come from? You’re not supposed to keep this pace,’” Pointer recalls. “So I surged again with the intent to break him. Then, around mile two, I could hear his footsteps and a quarter mile later he just ran away from me. He never looked at me or said a word when he passed. He won the race.” Pointer confesses he struggled initially to find joy in his son’s happiness. “I used every advantage I could; I even had better shoes on,” he says with a laugh. “His advantage was that he just had a better engine than mine.” Wounded ego aside, Pointer loves running with his three kids. “There’s something just magical about going for a run with your kids,” he says. Pointer’s love of all things running is prob-
Joey Pointer
ably one reason why he recently celebrated his 19th year at Fleet Feet. He enjoys all aspects of his job: the people, product, and Fleet Feet’s mission. “Our people make it fun, rewarding, and exciting,” he says. “I also love to try on new sneakers. It just never gets old. I have a closet full of them.” Pointer never envisioned sticking around this long when he came aboard as Financial Manager, let alone being promoted to CFO in 2012 and then CEO five years later. When he joined, the chain included about 40 stores. It felt more like a start-up to Pointer, who had come from Ernst & Young and its 80,000 employees. “I thought I’d do it for a year or two,” he says. “Now I don’t know what would give me the same joy. It just never gets old.” Not a bad career trajectory for a kid who grew up on a small North Carolina tobacco farm dreaming of not becoming a farmer. “It’s sun-up to sundown, six days a week. By the time you got done cutting the grass, you had to start over again,” Pointer says. He went to the University of North Carolina hoping it would be his ticket off the farm. It was, even though the farm hasn’t entirely left him. “There’s something peaceful about planting a crop, watching it grow, and harvesting,” he says, adding that it took him awhile to appreciate how well his father treated his employees. “It’s one of the reasons why I love Fleet Feet: We plant new stores and work hard to make them grow.” Pointer also credits his mother, a former extension agent who helped open a senior center in their local community, for influencing Fleet Feet. “She was selfless with her time and her energy, and I think that manifests in Fleet Feet. We sponsor many different community events.” Closing in on his 20th anniversary with no plans to retire, Pointer has Fleet Feet running through his veins. It’s been an incredible, sometimes humbling journey, he says. From the day Sally Edwards and Elizabeth Jansen opened the first Fleet Feet Sports store in an old Victorian house in downtown Sacramento to today’s 300-store (and counting) nationwide chain, it’s a remarkable story. “We do more sales in August than we did in an entire year when I first arrived,” Pointer says. “I’ve been fortunate to be a part of this journey, and I think our best days are yet to come.” —G.D.
2023 july • footwearplusmagazine.com 13
23_07_FW_Retail_Profile_RO_GD_TM_04.indd 13
6/23/23 12:54 PM