In Profile: The Running Centre Perth

How long have you been in business?

We started the business 2 years ago in 2009 

What got you started? 

Both my business partner and I are passionate athletes, Raf has represented Australia in Duathlon at an elite level, his best result to date being a #3 World Ranking. I have been lucky enough to race as an age grouper in Kona for the Ironman World Champs and represented Australia at the ITU Long Course and Olympic distance championships. The opportunity arose when my athletic coach and I were talking whilst running one day. I have 15 years retail and brand management experience, spending most of my time with Diageo, the world’s largest spirits company. Raf Baugh is also a skilled Physiotherapist and level 2 triathlon coach. Raf's background has given us valuable insight and credibility in the Australian market both with his athletic accomplishments and his successful running coaching business “Front Runner”. Both Raf and I had a real passion for starting a small business focusing on running in WA and our unique skills combined well to allow the Running Centre to be born.

What separates your store from other sports retail? 

Raf and I developed a very comprehensive plan that led to the creation of our unique fitting system and training of our staff in shoe fitting. We wanted to strive to be a running store set up by runners, with runners working in it all with a technical understanding of running. We wanted to make our business so different to anything currently offered In WA. Our market research showed that many consumers when making a buying decision in sporting footware fell into two categories:

1) Was aware of the need to correctly fit their feet to the right shoes and would actively search for retailers that provided this service and were willing to pay extra to get more technical running / training equipment if the advice they were given was accurate and consistent. Our main competitive advantage is we are a small business that only employees runners (all with degree level education and most in sports science or physiotherapy) who understand intimately the equipment we sell and are trained and monitored on-going by a qualified physiotherapist. Only having one shop allows us to maintain this consistency of service and level of expertise.

 2) The consumer who does not know about correct footware fitting and buys on price, our biggest opportunity is in the runner who has not been correctly fitted in the past, they are also our biggest challenge. We need to educate people about the importance of proper shoe fitting to ensure injury free kilometers, nothing is more frustrating for someone wanting to get fit, get past an injury or work towards a goal than being sidelined by incorrect equipment that leads to an injury.  We rely on our past customers to refer these people into our business through the positive experiences they have had with our shop, our customer referral based component of our business is a very important part of our business and a testament to our sales staffs knowledge and their fitting technique.

Who is your favourite international athlete (now and past)?

International athletes are a long way removed from our core customer of everyday walkers, joggers and runners!

That said, we do love running and I think Haile Gebreselassie is a hero for many runners around the world for his consistency of excellence and also endearing nature.

Of the current crop, our own Ryan Gregson has all the key elements to put Australian running back in the mainstream provided he can avoid injury and get to London without interruption in his preparation.

Who has been the most inspirational Australian runner & why?

Steve Moneghetti. Steve is a fantastic athlete with a proven track record of excellence over a sustained period. Due to the similarities between his performances and what we aim for as a company, we have an ongoing relationship with Steve through an annual training camp here in Perth each February.

What do you think of the 2011 New Balance Running product?

We have had an excellent response to the new season range particularly the performance aspect. We have found that New Balance is converting customers who are looking for a sharper, lighter and more responsive shoe and this has changed the perception that New Balance is largely for the heavier runner or those looking for durability