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October 18, 2004
Saucony Running Shoes - Classic Stealth Play
Read a great profile in the hotel USA Today, today. It's all about Saucony, the niche running shoe company, and its CEO, John Fisher. And it is really worth reading to see how to run a classic stealth play in a tough category. Here are a few highlights:
- Nike's 2003 sales were $12.3 billion, Adidas' $7.9 billion and Reebok's $3.5 billion. Saucony's 2003 sales were $136 million
- Yet, since the beginning of 2002, Saucony stock has risen 369%, while Nike stock is up 38%, how?
- Fisher says "We're the Dr Pepper of running shoes ... They try to be a little bit different. They don't come up with Dr Pepper cola or Dr Pepper ginger ale. If I were to move to Mars, I'd look for a niche opportunity. The fight is hard, but the rewards are there if you do basic things." That is stealth to a tee.
- Great marketing does not have to cost tons, "Nike pays Tiger Woods more money than Saucony may spend in this decade. Now, that's a challenge. We don't have enough advertising money to just go out and bang a drum and be heard. Opportunity is in grass-roots programs. We've created something called Saucony 26. We find 26 people running the 26 miles of marathons. One is a 91-year-old man who has run 10 consecutive marathons. There's a girl who was a burn victim at 3, and they said she'd never walk again. There is a blind runner. Fabulous stories. They are human interest, touchy-feely stories. It's enabled us to touch the hearts of runners. Thirty thousand people will run the New York marathon, and I'll almost guarantee that most know of the 26 program."
- And finally, the true lesson of stealth, "Find a niche. The loyalty component is more important with niche players than it is with a large player. If loyalty is strong, big companies can run ads until they're blue in the face."
Posted by johnza at October 18, 2004 05:36 PM
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