Berkshire-Owned Brooks Running Sees Another Record Year

Summary

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Bloomberg Businessweek Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Berkshire-Owned Brooks Running Sees Another Record Year
Release Date: February 13, 2026
Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec
Guest: Dan Sheridan, CEO of Brooks Running

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Episode Overview

This episode explores the enduring success of Brooks Running, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary, amid economic headwinds and an evolving consumer landscape. CEO Dan Sheridan discusses Brooks' record-setting growth, global strategy—especially in China—product differentiation, supply chain management, and the advantages of Berkshire Hathaway ownership. The conversation offers insights into current trends in the athletic apparel industry and how Brooks continues to win market share worldwide.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Robust Growth Despite Economic Uncertainty

• Strong Consumer Health:
  Although the US labor market shows signs of sluggishness, Brooks finished its 2025 fiscal year with 16% growth. Sheridan notes,

  "Our consumer is very, very healthy right now, and it's rooted in the participation... Brooks is winning the runner at the cash register.” (02:33)

• Global Participation:
  The popularity of running and walking continues to rise, fueling the company's success not just domestically, but globally.

  “It truly is a global story for us. We’re winning." (03:15)

2. Supply Chain & Tariff Navigations

• Supply Chain Stabilization:
  Sheridan acknowledges lingering tensions in global trade but reports stabilization over the past 4-5 months:

  “I would tell you it’s stabilized for us in our category.” (03:15)

• High Tariffs:
  Brooks operates in a high-tariff product category and has actively managed its processes to mitigate profit compression due to these costs.

  “We have high tariffs…we went to work on that through the whole value chain.” (04:30)

3. China Strategy & Expansion

• Explosive China Growth:
  Brooks is investing heavily in China, with plans for 30 stores by 2027 and 245% sales growth in 2025 alone:

  “The growth we’re experiencing is incredible and it’s just a testament to how we enter markets and how we execute.” (05:37)

• Community Engagement & Brand Resonance:
  Sheridan emphasizes engaging Chinese runner communities and delivering consistently high-performance products as key to their success in China.

4. Berkshire Hathaway Ownership & Leadership Transition

• Advantages of Berkshire Ownership:
  With a long-term strategic approach, Sheridan credits Brooks’ sustained growth to the stability provided by Berkshire:

  “Ownership matters in business. We’re lucky and fortunate to have the ownership of Berkshire Hathaway.” (06:52)

• Leadership Update:
  With Greg Abel now at the helm of Berkshire after Warren Buffett, Sheridan describes the new era as one of continuity:

  “The word that comes to mind is consistent…Greg has always led with…deserved trust and empowerment.” (08:09)

5. Regional Business Breakdown

• US Dominance but Global Growth:
  80% of Brooks’ revenue is from the US, but growth is accelerating in Europe (notably Germany) and China:

  “We’re the number one brand in Germany now in performance run…it’s been a 10 year vision of ours to achieve that.” (09:12)

• Massive Addressable Market:
  Brooks’ strategy is focused on the roughly $48 billion global running market.

6. Product Innovation & Brand Philosophy

• Product-First Approach:
  Sheridan emphasizes research into human biomechanics and product innovation as the core of Brooks’ value proposition:

  “We’re a product company first and foremost…innovation for the runner is why we win every single day.” (10:44)

• Brand Authenticity:
  Brooks leverages its authenticity and execution in both product quality and branding, resonating deeply with serious runners globally.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On why consumers remain loyal to Brooks:

  “Because running is so important in their life, they trade off on other discretionary items, but the shoe and apparel always wins…”
  — Dan Sheridan (03:15)

• On unique value within the Chinese market:

  “We deliver fantastic performance product consistently over time. We have a brand energy that resonates with the Chinese runner, and we’re engaging in the communities…”
  — Dan Sheridan (05:37)

• On the Berkshire effect:

  “The biggest advantage we have at an ownership structure is Berkshire Hathaway... I as a CEO have a very long time horizon that I focus on because of our ownership.”
  — Dan Sheridan (06:52)

• On leadership shift at Berkshire:

  “Greg has always led with…deserved trust and empowerment. It’s consistent with in terms of how they think of the subsidiaries.”
  — Dan Sheridan (08:09)

• On Brooks’ technological edge:

  “We spend hours, months, years researching the biomechanics of human motion. We are in the business of keeping people healthy, running farther, faster, longer…”
  — Dan Sheridan (10:44)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:30 – Episode begins: Economic backdrop and Brooks introduction
• 02:33 – Brooks’ 2025 performance and resilient consumer base
• 03:15 – Changes since last interview and supply chain normalization
• 04:30 – Tariff impacts and profitability outlook
• 05:37 – Brooks’ strategy and growth in China
• 06:52 – Berkshire Hathaway ownership and long-term vision
• 08:09 – Leadership transition from Buffett to Greg Abel
• 09:12 – Brooks’ regional market breakdown and runner participation
• 10:44 – Product innovation, brand ethos, and competitive advantage

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Tone & Takeaways

The tone is optimistic, pragmatic, and forward-looking. Dan Sheridan balances details about supply chain logistics and profitability with genuine enthusiasm for running culture and Brooks’ positive social impact. He repeatedly highlights the brand’s focus on product innovation, community, and authenticity—laying out a conviction that the company’s Berkshire backing allows for uniquely patient, strategic growth in a competitive sector.

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This summary provides a structured and engaging recap of the entire episode, spotlighting Brooks Running’s current position and future ambitions—a valuable resource for listeners and those interested in the intersection of sports, business strategy, and global retail expansion.

Transcript

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[Bloomberg Announcer]

Bloomberg.

[Dan Sheridan]

Audio Studios Podcasts radio news.

[Carol Massar]

You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Massar and Tim Stanvik on Bloomberg Radio.

[Tim Stanvik]

All right, we want to get a look at the consumer and the ever popular world of athleisure. When I'm not not wearing this, I'm often in yoga pants and also workout clothing. Hey, we want to do this with the CEO Brooks. This has the latest data on the US labor market showed US Job openings unexpectedly falling in the month of December to the lowest level since 2020. Layoffs edging up, adding to evidence of sluggish demand for workers. And then we also had US Companies announcing the largest number of job cuts for any January since the depths of the Great recession back in 2009. That's according to the outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas. So a lot to get to with our next guest. We do. Welcome back, Dan. Sherri. And he is CEO of Brooks, running the Seattle based subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Dan, how are you?

[Dan Sheridan]

Hi, Carol. Thanks for having me back. Happy to be here.

[Tim Stanvik]

It's great to have you here with Tim and me. Lots to get to. We're going to get to it. I got to say with the backdrop of markets though, and some nervousness out there and Bitcoin's continued slide, I got to ask you about the macro. And I got to ask you, does anyone buy your sneakers with Bitcoin or crypto?

[Dan Sheridan]

I think if they do, it's a very small percentage. You know, I think for us, we just finished our 20, 25 year and we grew 16%. So our consumer is very, very healthy right now, and it's rooted in the participation, which we've talked about in the past. More people around the world are running and walking, and Brooks is winning the runner at the cash register. And so our consumer is holding up.

[Interviewer]

We just, we talked with you back in October. It was just ahead of the marathon here in New York City. Curious how your world has changed since then. What can you tell us about changes in consumer demand since then? Supply chain improvements or supply chain changes, the business outlook? What has changed in a few months?

[Dan Sheridan]

Yeah, well, I think you always start with the consumer. And our consumer is very resilient. You know, we compete in maybe the most competitive category in sporting goods. We're the number one brand there. And what we're seeing at the consumer level is because running is so important in their life, they trade off on other discretionary items, but the shoe and apparel always wins because it's so important in their life. And, and we're seeing it around the world. Tim, the consumer is very, very strong in our category. Our EMEA business was up over 20%, our Asia business growing really, really nicely for us. And so it's not just a us story here. It truly is a global story for us. And we're winning. You know, in terms of supply chain, we've seen it somewhat normalize over the last, call it four or five months, we had a lot of tension in the trade discussions and, and we've got our arms around that. But I would tell you it's stabilized for us in our category.

[Tim Stanvik]

Well, you know, and I do wonder. So in terms of tariff concerns, global supply chains, things have settled down and you feel like where they are, they will stay that way the next couple of years.

[Dan Sheridan]

Yeah, we're, we're hopeful. I mean, based on the signals that we track, we think we're in a, in a, in a, in a solid spot right now. Now, what we know is that things are changing rapidly in terms of the discussion with the administration. But for our category, we, you know, we have high tariffs. I think last time we were on, we talked about it, our tariffs are extremely high for this category. And so we went to work on that through the whole value ch to get our arms around it. We're going to see some Compression in terms of profitability. But in terms of the long term vision, we think we've got our arms around it and we'll continue to monitor.

[Interviewer]

Hey, I want to talk a little bit about China because in the fall you told our Bloomberg news team that you were going to make a big investment in the next few years. 30 stores in China by 2027. China sales in 2025 for your company up 245%. At the same time, Nike, Adidas, Lululemon, they've been struggling in China. What are you doing differently?

[Dan Sheridan]

Yeah, again it starts with the consumer. And what we know about the Chinese consumer is as the middle class is growing, this is the perfect time for a brand like Brooks to enter. We deliver fantastic performance product consistently over time. We have a brand energy that resonates with the Chinese runner and we're engaging in the communities that are, that are part of the run community over there. And so the store is central to that in China and so our rollout of stores is a big part of this. But we're having a lot of success online with those running communities and we're new entry into China. So the growth we're experiencing is incredible and it's just a testament to how we enter markets and how we execute. Our team is executing really, really well over there.

[Tim Stanvik]

It does sound really good. And I am curious about longer term future plan. You are obviously part of the Berkshire universe and have been for a while. Would you guys ever consider maybe an acquisition to expand into some of the adjacent categories? Talk to us about kind of expansion and strategy plans. And we're also always curious like could you guys go public at some point or do you think that you're going to stay within the Berkshire homestead for a while more?

[Dan Sheridan]

Boy, Carol, I hope we stay forever with Berkshire and I believe we will. You know, the, the biggest advantage we have at an ownership structure is Berkshire Hathaway. I talked to you about this last time. We're so fortunate to be owned by Berkshire and more importantly, I as a CEO have a very long time horizon that I focus on because of our ownership. And that's a benefit to us in every decision we make. Ownership matters in business. We're lucky and fortunate to have the ownership of Berkshire Hathaway. And we continue to take term approach to this strategy when we enter markets like China, like in Europe, and the exposure that we have there and the growth that we have there, the fact that we can focus on 10 and 20 year horizons here is very different than our competition. And I don't take that for granted.

[Tim Stanvik]

That's actually very Chinese if you think about it in terms of strategy.

[Interviewer]

You know, last time we spoke with you, Warren Buffett was still at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway. Now it's Greg Abel. How is that going so far? How does his leadership compare to Buffett's? What's he like? What are his priority priorities? What is your contact with him been?

[Dan Sheridan]

Yeah, I would tell you the word that comes to mind is consistent. It's consistent with the culture of deserved trust and empowerment. Greg has always led with that. It's consistent with in terms of how they think of the subsidiaries. And so Greg is a very consistent manager and will remain that for us. Believe that I had a unique opportunity in December to travel to Omaha and spend some time with both Greg and Warren. And now Adam Johnson, who's now leading our division. And I could tell you that the same things are true throughout the leadership at Berkshire. And what an advantage for Brooks.

[Tim Stanvik]

Hey, one of the things. And we're talking with Dan Sheridan, CEO of Brooks Running, joining us from Seattle, Washington. Dan, we talked about the Chinese consumer and sounds like things are going really well. I would love to know what is the breakdown between Europe, China, the US And I want to just, if we can kind of drill down a little bit more into how the US Consumer is doing.

[Dan Sheridan]

Yeah. So for our business, Carol, the U.S. is our largest region. About 80% of our global revenue comes out of the U.S. and that's why it's so exciting for us in terms of the growth that we see ahead, we are very meaningful in the European market. We're the number one brand in Germany now in performance run. It's been a 10 year vision of ours to achieve that. And as I said, we're just getting started in China. So when we look at the total addressable market, it's a $48 billion market in terms of run. And where we invest is in the top, top countries where running, running is exploding. And so the markets that we're set up in are the ones that we're investing in. And Western Europe's a big investment. China is a big investment. And as I said, the consumer is super healthy there. It's rooted in participation. What we track our participation metrics. In the US there's about 50 million runners that run twice a week. We think globally that's close to 200 million people that are, they're choosing this activity and Brooks is winning with that consumer. So the consumer super healthy.

[Interviewer]

So on the, on the consumer and the consumer choosing Brooks. Why are they choosing Brooks from a technological perspective rather than a competitor such as Hoka or Nike? What is the differentiator with Brooks running technology?

[Dan Sheridan]

I love the question, Tim. This is why we exist. We're a product company first and foremost. And so innovation for the runner is why we win every single day. We spend hours, months, years researching the biomechanics of human motion. We are in the business of keeping people healthy, running farther, faster, longer, and we've been able to do that consistently. We're in our 25th year of 14% compounded annual growth because of the position we have in product. So we win first and foremost in product. The second thing is we execute really well as a business. As you can imagine, global supply chains, we sell in over 55 countries around the world. We have developed a supply chain and an operation excellence that we think wins in every market. And that's not easy to do. That's the really hard part. And then this brand speaks to runners. We're an authentic, relative brand that understands the journey of runners around the world. So when they're looking for a brand, they find authenticity in our brand. And that combination works in every market we've gone into. And so we often say we study our competition, but we really obsess on the consumer and we've been able to stay ahead of the consumer in product, in execution, and with our brand ethos of let's run there. And it's working in every market we're competing in.

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