SportsShoes.com achieved an 11% year-on-year increase in turnover, reaching £90 million, and acquired 663,000 new customers in the 12 months to 29 February 2024. The online retailer, specialising in running shoes, running clothing, and outdoor gear, also reported securing 749,000 orders from repeat customers during this period.
Established in 1982 and based in Bradford, SportsShoes.com offers over 17,000 products from 150 global running and outdoor brands. These include renowned names such as Asics, Nike, Adidas, Hoka, New Balance, and Brooks for running, and Salomon, Montane, Rab, and Patagonia for outdoor gear.
The retailer attributed its strong performance to a combination of successful product launches—such as the Nike Vaporfly 3, Nike ZoomX Ultrafly, Asics Nimbus 26, and Hoka Clifton 9—and impactful activation initiatives. This January, SportsShoes.com announced an exclusive retail partnership with community event network parkrun, supporting over nine million registered parkrunners across 23 countries, marking the company’s most significant retail partnership to date.
Throughout the year, SportsShoes.com was involved in more than 20 activation events, both in the UK and internationally, establishing a physical presence globally as a digital retailer. These included activations at major marathons in Tokyo, New York, Boston, and Paris.
The retailer also saw success with its athlete ambassadors, including British distance runner Emile Cairess, set to make his Olympic debut in Paris this year, and Imogen Boddy, who broke the National Three Peaks Challenge record in May.
SportsShoes.com Managing Director, Brett Bannister, stated: “Our mission at SportsShoes.com is to help as many people as possible lead happier, healthier lives through running and fitness. This focus enables us to continually develop and improve our business for the benefit of our customers, brand partners, and people.
“We want to build upon the success of our product launches and activation events for both elite and casual runners. A great example of this was our hugely successful inaugural Podium Festival in Leicester this March, which was attended by 1,000 runners.
“We are also growing our international sales, particularly in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy, and see a clear opportunity to establish a premium online retail brand in Europe and beyond. Our start for the first quarter of this financial year has been strong, maintaining the momentum from the previous 12 months.”
To support its growth, SportsShoes.com has invested £4.6 million over the past three years in its people, processes, technologies, and facilities. This includes the opening of a £2.5 million, 10,750 sq ft creative and tech hub called U2 in May last year. Located adjacent to the company’s warehouse facilities, it houses 224 employees.
Additionally, during the 12-month period, SportsShoes.com replatformed its UK and European websites to offer enhanced user experiences with increased levels of personalisation across product discovery and advice.
Bannister added: “Our investments are aimed at providing the foundations for ongoing sustainable, profitable growth. We also believe in constantly innovating, whether it’s through product launches, brand activations, or sales promotions. By continuing to deliver fresh and exciting ideas for our customers and brand partners, we believe the sales will follow.”
