How Brooks Running achieved 16% revenue growth in FY2025 amid tariffs

Brooks Running, the Seattle-based performance running brand owned by Berkshire Hathaway, delivered 16% revenue growth in fiscal 2025 despite tariff pressures that constrained many footwear competitors, according to industry analyses and parent company disclosures. The brand's multi-year strategy to diversify manufacturing away from China, combined with premium pricing power and disciplined product development, allowed it to sustain momentum whilst rivals absorbed margin compression or raised prices that dampened demand.

What sourcing changes did Brooks make to mitigate tariff exposure?

Brooks had systematically reduced its reliance on Chinese manufacturing in the years leading up to the tariff escalations of 2024 and 2025. The brand shifted a substantial portion of footwear production to Vietnam and Indonesia, countries that remained outside the highest tariff brackets applied to Chinese-made athletic footwear. This diversification began well before the latest tariff announcements, positioning Brooks more favourably than competitors who maintained concentrated China sourcing.

The running brand's supply chain strategy emphasised building relationships with contract manufacturers in Southeast Asia capable of meeting its technical specifications for performance footwear. By fiscal 2025, Brooks had sufficient production capacity outside China to avoid the most severe cost impacts, though the company did not publicly disclose precise country-of-origin percentages for competitive reasons. This geographic flexibility gave Brooks operational headroom that pure China-dependent brands lacked.

How did Brooks maintain pricing power during the tariff period?

Brooks leveraged its positioning as a premium running specialist to implement selective price increases without significant volume loss. The brand's focus on serious runners, a customer segment that prioritises performance and fit over price, provided insulation from the demand erosion seen in more price-sensitive footwear categories. Brooks' average selling prices remained elevated relative to mass-market athletic brands, and the company reported that sell-through rates at wholesale partners stayed strong through fiscal 2025.

The brand's direct-to-consumer channel, which represented a growing share of revenue, also supported pricing discipline. Online sales and Brooks' own retail stores allowed the company to capture full margin and maintain recommended prices, reducing reliance on promotional activity that compressed competitors' profitability. This channel mix evolution complemented the tariff mitigation strategy by improving overall gross margin even as input costs rose.

What product strategies contributed to Brooks' growth?

Brooks sustained innovation velocity in its core running footwear line-up, introducing updates to franchise models that maintained consumer interest and justified premium pricing. The brand's focus on biomechanical research and runner-specific fit technologies differentiated its products in a crowded market, supporting repurchase rates among loyal customers. Product development cycles incorporated feedback from wear-testing programmes and digital engagement platforms, allowing Brooks to refine offerings based on real-world performance data.

The company's approach emphasised depth over breadth, concentrating resources on a curated range of running shoes rather than expanding into tangential categories. This discipline helped Brooks avoid inventory overhangs and markdowns that plagued broader athletic brands during the fiscal year. Key product launches in fiscal 2025 generated strong initial sell-through, indicating that Brooks' product-market fit remained tight despite external headwinds.

• Diversified manufacturing base across Vietnam and Indonesia reduced China tariff exposure
• Premium brand positioning enabled selective price increases with minimal demand impact
• Growing direct-to-consumer channel captured full margin and reduced promotional pressure
• Focused product strategy on core running categories avoided inventory excess
• Data-driven development cycles improved product-market fit and sell-through rates

How did Brooks' performance compare to the broader footwear market?

Whilst specific comparative data for fiscal 2025 varies by company reporting calendar, Brooks' 16% growth significantly outpaced many established athletic footwear brands facing margin pressure from tariffs and normalising post-pandemic demand. Several major footwear companies reported flat or low-single-digit growth during comparable periods, with gross margins declining as they absorbed tariff costs or faced pushback on price increases.

Brooks' performance underscored the advantage of category focus and operational preparation. Brands with diversified product portfolios spanning multiple price tiers and use cases often struggled to implement coherent tariff responses, raising prices in some segments whilst absorbing costs in others. Brooks' narrow focus on premium running allowed for a more unified strategy that protected both revenue growth and profitability.

What lessons does Brooks' experience offer for fashion supply chains?

The Brooks case illustrates that proactive supply chain diversification, initiated years before tariff implementation, provides materially greater flexibility than reactive scrambling after policy changes. Fashion and footwear companies that invested in multi-country sourcing networks during periods of relative trade stability entered the tariff era with operational options that late movers could not replicate quickly. Building contractor relationships and qualifying new factories requires time and capital that cannot be compressed when urgency strikes.

Brooks' experience also highlights the interplay between brand positioning and pricing power during cost shocks. Premium brands serving performance-oriented or loyalty-driven customer segments demonstrated greater ability to pass through cost increases than mass-market players competing primarily on price. This dynamic suggests that brand investment and product differentiation provide not only revenue growth opportunities but also risk mitigation during supply chain disruptions.

Finally, the Brooks performance in fiscal 2025 reinforces the value of channel diversification. Direct-to-consumer capabilities gave the brand margin protection and pricing control that wholesale-dependent competitors lacked. Fashion companies that had built omnichannel infrastructure before the tariff period could adjust channel mix to optimise profitability, whilst those reliant on a single route to market had fewer levers to pull when external pressures mounted.