Bothell, WA (May 4, 2010) – Brooks Sports, Inc. (www.brooksrunning.com), the only brand in the world offering footwear, apparel, and accessories designed exclusively for the runner, today announced Runner’s Den in Phoenix, Ariz., as the winner of the Brooks Madness Tournament, a unique sales contest pitting retailer against retailer in a spirited battle of running shoe sales. After seven tough weeks of competition that took retailers into their community for additional evangelizing and sales leads, the Runner’s Den defeated their final opponent to capture the $10,000 grand prize and bragging rights for 2010.

“We’re ecstatic to be named the 2010 Brooks Madness Champion,” said Rob Wallack, owner of Runner’s Den. “Going in we thought we had a chance to make it to the Final Four, but our employees really stepped it up and stayed motivated to sell Brooks product the entire seven weeks of the contest. Our team’s great customer service and ability to tap into new customers, especially in the last few rounds, brought home the win for us.”

The final showdown came down to East versus West with Runner’s Den, Phoenix, taking on Runner’s Depot, Davie, Fla. In what was a close championship match, Runner’s Den pulled ahead by a mere 36 points, winning the championship title with 487 to 451 points.

The Brooks Madness Tournament began on March 3 with a bracket of 128 teams (aka specialty running retail accounts). Each week of the contest, participating teams focused on Brooks footwear sales. Point totals for each week were determined by both market share and number of pairs sold. The total weekly score dictated which retailer from each matchup advanced to the next round of competition the following week.

“We're excited to congratulate Runner’s Den on becoming the 2010 Brooks Madness Tournament Champion,” said Brooks Vice President of Sales Rick Wilhelm. “All our participating retailers really jumped on board for this fun promotion. They made an outstanding effort to look beyond their traditional in-store customer to others in their communities who may be in need of performance running shoes. In the end, our population of happy runners grew, and that’s a great outcome.”

Runner’s Den and Runner’s Depot, along with several other accounts that made it to the Sweet Sixteen round and beyond, increased their sales by using innovative strategies to garner new customers. Many went outside their stores to tap into both local and national businesses with employees who need comfortable footwear for the workplace, increasing awareness for the store and the Brooks brand. Others reached out to runners at local races, running clubs, and gyms at which they had no prior connection.

“Seeing how successful these strategies were during the contest showed our retail partners what customer channels they had previously overlooked, and how reaching out to these audiences could help their businesses grow all year long,” said Wilhelm.

Planning for the 2011 Brooks Madness Tournament is currently underway with more prizes and Run Happy® surprises in store.

About Brooks
Brooks Sports, Inc. is a leading running company that designs and markets a line of performance footwear, apparel, and accessories in more than 40 countries worldwide. A subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Brooks was founded in 1914 and is headquartered in Bothell, Wash., near Seattle. The company’s mission is to inspire everyone to run and be active by creating innovative gear that keeps them running longer, farther, and faster. Visit www.brooksrunning.com for more information, and follow frequent brand updates on Twitter (@brooksrunning) and Facebook (Brooks Sports).