bandanna

Boise retailer named among top 50 running stores in U.S.

Bandanna Running and Walking owners didn't even know they had been nominated for honor

By Ken Dey - Idaho Statesman

Edition Date: 01/19/07

Thirteen years ago, Rich Harris drew on his professional running experience to open Bandanna Running and Walking in Boise.

It was Boise's first specialty running store. Since its opening, Bandanna has attracted a loyal following to its 5th and Main Street location in Downtown Boise.

Venture inside Bandanna Running and Walking and you'll find walls of running and walking shoes, surrounded by racks of running clothing and gear. Any of the store's seven employees will ask you what you need to run or walk the streets and trails of the Treasure Valley.

Service and selection landed the Boise store on the list of the 50 Best Running Stores in America, according to the Running Network, a publisher of industry publications such as as Footwear Intelligence. This was the first year the list was compiled by the Running Network, which operates runningnetwork.com.

Being named one of America's best stores was a surprise to Harris and co-owner Gregg Mizuta, who didn't even know they had been nominated.

The Running Network solicited nominations from customers and others in the industry. More than 200 stores were nominated. Industry experts visited each nominated store to rate the quality of service secretly.

"It wasn't like we could prepare for it," Harris said "What really pleases us is that our staff is doing a nice job."

The stores were evaluated on 20 aspects of retailing, including customer service, product knowledge and community involvement.

"The goal of the program was to communicate the value that running specialty stores bring to their markets," Larry Eder, president of the Running Network, said in a statement.

Harris, 49, a former college track runner at Colorado State University and a former professional runner with Nike, started the store in 1994 with his brother and another partner before eventually buying them out. Over the next few years, Harris bought out his partners. Mizuta came aboard as a partner in 1999.

Harris said the store filled a niche in the Boise market. "At the time the store got started, there was nobody here in the Valley selling what we do," Harris said.

The store offers a a wider variety of high-quality shoes and equipment for serious runners and walkers than big-box sporting goods stores do, he said. The store offers nearly 80 models of running and walking shoes and nearly 40 varieties of track spikes. Shoes sell from $50 to $150.

"A lot of people aren't even aware there are different types of shoes for different types of feet," he said.

Many people start running and quit because they have a bad experience that can often be traced to having the wrong shoe, Harris said.

Mizuta, 45, who bought a stake in the store seven years ago, said the store constantly adjusts its inventory to meet customer demands. The staff spends a lot of time checking products to ensure quality, he said.

With more baby boomers becoming increasingly concerned about their health and more young people moving into the Treasure Valley, Harris said the popularity of running has never been higher. He declined to disclose his sales, but said they have been increasing every year.

Although the store has expanded at its current location and is now 3,800 square feet, Harris said he has no desire to add other stores.

"We strongly believe in the one-store concept so we can keep all our efforts and all our inventory here," he said.

The store attracts customers from outside Idaho, too.

"We're a destination store," Mizuta said. "It's kind of interesting we get a lot of people from outside of Boise coming to the store. When runners go to different cities and have some down time, they like to find the local running shop."

Contact reporter Ken Dey at kdey@idahostatesman