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Jack meets... a man on the run
One might have expected that with the melody of medals still ringing in our ears and the anticipation of four years leading up to our very own Olympic Games, anyone who is a specialist in the sports trade would be excited if not ecstatic right now. Well, Phil Talbot is obviously not as laid back as first impressions might lead one to believe, but he was most objective when we broached the subject of the Olympics, recalling that most of ‘our' medals were won in a sitting position, and that although the 2012 games would doubtless bring sports to the fore, the masses were unlikely to spend either more time or more money on their gear because of it.
‘ASICS from Runnersworld', to give it its full title, is quite a modest-sized shop in a very modest shopping street in Rayners Lane, Pinner, Middlesex. If the usual advice about where to have a shop , "Location, Location, Location" is correct, this one is certainly in the wrong place. I am reminded of the original Moss Bros shop in Covent Garden (when it was a market and certainly not a retail area) and its success, attributed to having stock that was wanted and the notion that if one ‘builds a better mousetrap, people will beat a path to your door' and although I want primarily to write about Phil and the shop in Rayners Lane, I was fascinated to see that Runnersworld, the parent company, do actually have a branch in Long Acre, Covent Garden. Well, there were no mouse traps in Rayners Lane, but despite Harrow's horrendous parking charges, customers are coming.
I do not know if the local traders do have any organisation as such, but collectively and individually, banks, stores, jeweller, grocers, bakers, cafes, charity shop, and even the Asics shop, should be making the strongest of protests at the obscene parking meter prices if potential customers are not to be driving away. The original Runnersworld shop here closed down about two years ago and the Asics shop - which has been open just a year - presents a very different spectacle. The old shop was crowded, something of a muddle, had a look of neglect (yes, I speak as I find it!) and the occasional fly in the window was not unknown. Contrast that to the shop today. It is clean (not clinical), inviting, with footwear well displayed, and there is space. Even more important, there is an immediate feeling of being somewhere that is ‘at your service', that cares.
But who is this Phil Talbot?
He was born in Zambia, at the time it was still North Rhodesia. It was a quirk of political fate that led to his family having to get out with great haste, when he was a mere six months old, and they came to live in North Harrow, very close to the present shop. He took to canoe slalom at school where he was a useful ‘paddler' and went through to the top division. He loved mountaineering from the age of eleven and started running in order to get properly fit for the 4000 metre peaks with rock and ice to boot (literally), no mean feat, or as I would suggest, no mean feet either. But Phil is not one to do anything by half measures and having decided to run, participated in the second London Marathon, making it round in three and a half hours, and in his third attempt in just twelve seconds short of three hours. Keen to get to work, he did not persevere with ‘A' Levels though, and was fascinated by computers. His first job was with the British Waterways Board where he worked on canal systems. The extraordinary comparison with that first computer with very little power and being the size of a quite large room is astounding. It had to be kept at an even temperature and dust free, and handled with the greatest care. After seven years he moved to Lloyds Bank International in Queen Victoria Street helping to run their computer systems which despite being a little smaller and a little more powerful were still museum pieces compared with their modern counterpart.
As a member of Hillingdon Athletics Club he organised the famous five-mile road races, and claims that they produced the fastest runners in the country. But there was more than simply running fast for Phil at Hillingdon. It was thanks to running that he was to catch up with and eventually marry Sharon, no mean sprinter herself. They met while training and have been running along well together ever since. Coincidentally, Phil's Dad, John, now in his 88th year, actually played table tennis at the Vagabond TT Club in Pinner alongside Sharon before Phil and Pat had run into each other. As well as looking after their daughter Anna, seven years old this October, Sharon looks after the books for Runnersworld, who now boast six stores including the Asics one.
In the store, I met Craig who originally worked in his school holidays at the Chadwell Heath shop, close to his home. I heard him explaining pronation, supination, and the pros and cons of several models of footwear to a newcomer to the running scene, and then watched him as he gave her a turn on the running machine, to be followed by a detailed analysis of her stance on the screen. I knew that he was a run above the ordinary. I discovered that he was now in his second year at Brunel University reading Sports Science and was himself a middle distance runner. With people like him to serve, it became obvious that there was no need for discount signs to clutter the shop. As Phil confirmed, it was the service, the interest, the expertise and the whole ethos of professional retailing that accounted for the steady year on year progress by the group. As to the recession, there was even a positive side to that. Running and keeping fit without a visit to the local gym was considerably less expensive for the individual and the family than gym membership and if folk had a little extra time on their hands, so much more likely would they be to benefit from the likes of Runnersworld.
Anima Sana In Corpore Sano translates, in case your Latin may be a little rusty, as ‘A sound mind in a sound body' . The concept of an independent retailer devoting his entire shop to one brand might question whether someone with a sound mind in a sound body would be wise to consider it. Runnersworld are specialist running shops so their offering is already limited to the needs of runners. Thinking very carefully about the wisdom of what Ron and his partner, fellow Director Brian Standen, have chosen to do, there is much to consider. On the negative side, not everyone may want a specific brand but positively, if they are interested in one particular brand how attractive to find the entire range of that brand with knowledgeable staff to show it to them. In this case, if for any reason Asics does not suit the prospective buyer, they are only ten minutes away from their Eastcote store, to which they may be directed. Perhaps the most important advantage in running a one-stop Asics store is the close relationship that can be built up between supplier and retailer. Many companies now promote the idea of a partnership between themselves and the retailer but surely it can only be strengthened when a store is devoted entirely to the one brand. This is probably the key to its success. Living close by, I will be keeping an eye on its progress. If they have a sudden rush, I will be on call to help out. I am very optimistic that the store will continue to make steady progress. If there is one obstacle that they have to overcome it is that bl-dy parking problem, which is little short of a nightmare for all concerned.
"We can never say never" said Phil when we talked about possible expansion. It would seem that his recipe for success means concentrating on what one is doing and doing it the right way. It all sounded good to me - and the customer whom Craig had jogging on the running machine earlier in the afternoon was back choosing a tracksuit; obviously confident that she was in good hands, as indeed is the group of Runnersworld shops and the Asics store.
Keep running, Phil.
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