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Article: Road Runner Sports Continues to Put Its Best Foot Forward.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- San Diego Business Journal
- Article date:
- January 29, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When Mike Gotfredson started Road Runner Sports 18 years ago; it was a matter of necessity.
He had just lost his job and needed to do something to make money. So he turned to what he knew best -- direct marketing.
Gotfredson had worked for an affiliate of Ford Motor Genuine Parts Distribution as a sales manager and marketing analyst, and for Sperry Univac Minicomputer as a marketing analyst and later marketing manager.
But he didn't have any retail experience and had never sold shoes. He wasn't even a runner at the time. Instead, it was a pair of $35 sneakers that Gotfredson called "too expensive" that put the shoe-marketing idea in his head.
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