Brooks Sports Finds The Shoe Now Fits Here

Brooks Sports Inc. will move its corporate headquarters to the Seattle area next month, as part of an ongoing restructuring plan aimed at reviving consumer interest in its running shoes.

The company, currently based in Rockford, Mich., will move into new Bothell offices within the next 30 days, said Ian Gomar, marketing vice president.

Brooks hopes to relocate its current work force of 25, and will hire an unspecified number of new employees in the Seattle area.

Earlier this week, Brooks, which had been owned by Wolverine World Wide Inc., announced it had been sold to the Norway-based Rokke Group for approximately $21 million. Rokke's U.S. headquarters are in Seattle.

The sale includes the shoe company's U.S. operations as well as an international distribution and licensing business.

"By relocating to Seattle, we will be near our new owner," said Gomar, and an opportunity to get the owner's input. "They're very excited about their new acquisition."

Relocating to this area should help boost Brooks' image among suppliers and wholesalers as well, he said.

The company has tried to interest its overseas clients in visiting the corporate headquarters.

However, such efforts often failed because Rockford and nearby Grand Rapids lacked the amenities and incentives, such as professional sporting events, that a cosmopolitan area like Seattle can offer to attract visitors.

At the same time, the Pacific Northwest has grown into an athletic footwear hub with industry leader Nike Inc. based in Beaverton, Ore.

Brooks has won praise from serious runners and footwear industry analysts for its U.S. patented HydroFlow system (a shoe-cushioning technology) and for its trademarked propulsion-plate system, which propels and controls motion.

And many of its shoes, particularly the Chariot line, have earned a reputation among serious runners as a steady, reliable brand, says John Slee, assistant manager of Super Jock 'N Jill, a Seattle athletic apparel store.

The problem, says Gomar, is that Brooks shoes generally lack the colorful glitz and marketing hype of many of their competitors, particularly Nike and Reebok.

"We're in a consumer-driven business, but we haven't put our talents toward the consumer in the past," Gomar says. "Before, the company didn't really care about what the shoe looked like as long as it was technically correct. That thinking doesn't move a product off the shelf."

This year, Brooks plans to double its advertising budget and move its advertising away from publications that cater primarily to serious runners to general recreational magazines such as Sports Illustrated and Outside.