00:00And even though this is an activity that does not require more than shorts, shirts, shoes,
00:05running has become a big business.
00:07We talked to Lily Meyer about what's become a multi-billion dollar industry.
00:10She's a retail reporter for Bloomberg.
00:13Lily, you're right about how running has become a status symbol.
00:17When and how did that happen?
00:19Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, running has always been popular,
00:22but coming out of the pandemic as run clubs regathered and began,
00:27and more people joined and got into running.
00:31Poonam Goyal, who works at Bloomberg Intelligence, told you that running has become kind of cultic.
00:36Describe that.
00:36I mean, I live in Brooklyn near the park.
00:39There are running clubs.
00:40I see groups.
00:40But it's more than that.
00:41It's become like a real way of life for a lot of people.
00:43Yeah, I mean, the running club culture has exploded.
00:47There are now running clubs around everything, you know, around different interests.
00:51And then there are dating apps where you can meet people through fitness.
00:54And so I think it's really become more of an identifier than it was in the past.
00:59So it's become this kind of cult.
01:01How does that play out in terms of the way that people dress for it, what clothes they're buying for
01:07it,
01:07kind of what ancillary gear they're getting as a result of being runners, I guess, in a bigger sense?
01:11Yeah, I mean, I think because it's become more social, people want to look good while they do it.
01:16If they're going to a run club that has a bar or meet up after,
01:19and then maybe they see someone they're interested in and they want to look good,
01:22or if they're doing it with their friends or want to make new friends.
01:24So I think it's become less of an activity you can do in your pajamas or in your old college
01:30t-shirt.
01:31You talk to people who have become runners in recent years.
01:35Did they do it because of all of this kind of social complement,
01:38or is it something they kind of stumbled into as they got into running?
01:41It was a mix.
01:42Some of them started doing it right out of the pandemic or started in the pandemic,
01:46where that was something you could do to get outside and still social distance.
01:50So I think most of the people I spoke to have picked it up in the last three to four
01:55years, some even less.
01:56Let's talk a bit about what people are buying a lot of clothing and a lot of expensive clothing.
02:02What does that look like?
02:04Take us through the rack of what people are getting.
02:05Yeah, so some of the people I spoke to who buy the more high-end running gear,
02:10one thing they'll buy is this brand Satisfy has these moth tags.
02:14Satisfy.
02:14Satisfy, yes, which is a higher-end running brand.
02:19They have shirts that are $140.
02:21They have shorts that are $350, running vests that are $410.
02:26There's a brand District Vision that makes running sunglasses,
02:30Bandit, which makes all kinds of running gear.
02:34Let me stick with Satisfy for a second.
02:37So there are these kind of moth hole shirts.
02:39Yes.
02:39Looks like a moth has changed your cotton.
02:42Yes.
02:42That is the goal, but it's not done in any kind of random way.
02:45There's like a method to the madness of it all.
02:47So the holes are laser-cut.
02:49Laser-cut.
02:50They're laser-cut.
02:51And the brand, every few years, will use athletes, have them run, and analyze their sweat patterns,
02:58and make these laser-cut holes based on where runners sweat.
03:02As people are buying this, are they doing it with performance in mind?
03:06Are they thinking, yeah, it's cool that they've done this like a mouse and laser-cut, or is it because
03:11it looks cool?
03:12What did they tell you?
03:12I think it's because it looks cool.
03:14I mean, I think, you know, they perform well, and they're also cotton, which is interesting.
03:18So they're not in, you know, a dry-fit fabric.
03:22But I think it is because it looks cool.
03:24And someone told me, you know, I can wear it while I run, and then show up at brunch, and
03:28I still look good.
03:29Something I found fascinating is you talked to a number of these runners who spent like $3,500 or $5
03:34,000 on clothes,
03:36and that's like exclusive of shoes.
03:38What was their reaction to kind of like doing that math and figuring that out?
03:41Were they at all surprised at like how much of an investment they'd made in this?
03:44Yeah, it was funny talking to people, you know, they'd be like, okay, let me think.
03:49Oh, it's $5,000.
03:50It's like a sizable amount of money, yeah.
03:52So, I mean, I think for some people it is expected, but I think for a lot of people they're
03:57like, oh, it adds up.
04:00And, I mean, I would never want to be asked how much money I spend on clothing.
04:04But I think it does add up in a way that maybe it wouldn't have in the past, shopping at
04:09some of the less expensive brands.
04:11You cover retailers here at Bloomberg, and I'd love to know sort of what this has meant for the retail
04:16economy surrounding running.
04:17Like what are stores seeing in terms of traffic and sort of how much people are willing to spend on
04:22shorts and shirts and socks and the like?
04:25I think it depends on the brand.
04:27So, running at Nike is still doing really well.
04:30And, you know, Nike, most of Nike's products are not priced at the higher end.
04:35It's a high price point, yeah.
04:36Yeah, they have a few products that, you know, are more technical and go for more.
04:40But running is still doing well at brands that offer more affordable running gear.
04:45But brands like Satisfy are seeing people spend more and are growing as well.
04:49You mentioned Bandit a moment ago.
04:51People are paying money to kind of get early offers from Bandit.
04:55What does that say to you just about that brand's attitude toward consumerism?
04:59Sort of who's getting locked into deals like that?
05:02It's interesting.
05:03I mean, I think it feels like that drop culture that we see in sneakers is expanding to other categories.
05:09So, people, you know, want the coolest thing.
05:13They want to get it before other people.
05:14They want to make sure they can get it.
05:16So, I think, you know, that pull that you can get clothes sooner and also get access to deals and
05:26get free socks is really enticing for shoppers.
05:29Let me end with, like, a more existential question.
05:32That is, I think of running as, like, a sport that's super egalitarian.
05:35Anybody can get into.
05:36You just need, like, shoes and socks, shirt and shorts.
05:40This is changing all of that, I guess.
05:42There's kind of, like, a barrier that's being put in place here because of the kind of new coolness of
05:47running that wasn't there before.
05:48Yeah, I mean, I think some people, many people are probably still running in old shirts and shorts and not
05:54spending a ton of money.
05:55I'm one of them.
05:57But, even myself, I've, you know, start to see these things and think, like, okay, this is, like, cooler than
06:03what I'm running in.
06:04Like, maybe I should get into it.
06:06So, I think, you know, we might start to see people spending more and people have been.
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