It was all Ivy Pointer’s plan. At least that’s what her husband, Fleet Feet CEO Joey Pointer, says.

With a summer sabbatical from her role as an intensive care physician looming, Ivy Pointer suggested a special kind of adventure to her husband: a road trip to Fleet Feet stores across America. Joey Pointer initially shrugged off his wife’s suggestion, thinking it a far-fetched plan for a family with three children under age 16. The time. The expense. The upheaval to the daily cadence of life.

“Yeah, I thought it was crazy,” Joey Pointer says during a chat at The Running Event in Austin on Dec. 19.

Only Ivy Pointer – a former Fleet Feet outfitter who oozes energy – returned soon after with a detailed itinerary for her husband’s consideration. Suddenly, crazy had a thorough plan.

In June, the couple began a nearly seven-week road trip in a 21-foot Winnebago branded with the Fleet Feet logo. From June 24 to August 7, the Pointers traveled more than 12,000 miles on American roads, much of it with their three children in tow. From Los Angeles and across the Sun Belt to the Southeast, then back westward through the upper Midwest, the Rockies and the Pacific Northwest before returning to the City of Angels. 

Along the way, Joey Pointer visited more than 50 Fleet Feet stores and met with hundreds of team members. Enriching and enlightening, the experience solidified his passion for the swelling 48-year-old enterprise and sharpened his plans for pushing the Carrboro, NC-based company forward.

Listening and Learning

Pointer’s summer adventure included conversations with hundreds of franchisees, operators and retail staff. He participated in staff bowling and kickball games and team meals. He asked questions and listened intently. 

“I wanted to meet franchisees, operators and employees and hear from them firsthand. What’s going well? What are pain points or friction points we need to clean up?” Pointer says. “I wanted to see things with my own eyes.”

Pointer’s conversations and observations yielded findings now informing his priorities and Fleet Feet’s work. The visits spurred changes to corporate’s distribution of e-commerce supplies to retail stores as well as the company’s return policy. Pointer also unearthed a new mission: Urging footwear brands to shrink shoeboxes so stores can maximize stockrooms.

Pointer saw “the spirit of Fleet Feet” in action, too. In Tucson, AZ, he heard the story of a grandmother dancing on the retail floor in her new shoes. In Dallas, he learned of the local Fleet Feet’s efforts to raise money for an ill child. In Monroe, LA, Pointer discovered one outfitter used part of an inheritance from her mother’s passing to purchase Pete the Cat books and footwear for local children.

“The power of the brand is our people,” says Pointer, who even managed to hire Fleet Feet’s new chief financial officer, Amy Diebler, while in a parking lot of a Sinclair gas station somewhere out west. “You know — the one with the green dinosaur?”

Beyond his store visits, Pointer enjoyed other interactions delivering a stronger understanding of running’s evolution in the U.S. He met with the directors of Girls on the Run, an organization for which he sits on the national board. He traveled to multiple vendor headquarters, including stops at Nike in Portland, OR, and Brooks in Seattle.

In Denver, Pointer met Bailey Ness, the founding force behind Cooldown, the self-described “social club disguised as a run club” that now boasts 15 lively chapters spread across the country. In Columbus, OH, he spoke at a youth cross-country camp. At many stops, Pointer’s 15-year-old daughter led youth running clinics in conjunction with local Fleet Feet stores.

“Seeing her blossom was one of the great personal joys of this adventure,” Pointer beams. 

Chasing Ambitious Goals

When Pointer started at Fleet Feet in 2004 as the company’s financial manager, he never imagined he’d reach 20 years at the company, let alone ascend to the CEO role 13 years later. He also never anticipated Fleet Feet’s robust growth. (He certainly never envisioned a cross-country journey in an RV, but that’s what it eventually came to!)

In fact, when Pointer joined Fleet Feet two decades ago, the company claimed about three dozen stores and $26 million in annual sales. With the opening of 13 new shops in 2024, Pointer says Fleet Feet will close the year with 278 stores across 40 states. Meanwhile, systemwide sales for the year are on pace to eclipse $500 million. His long-term goal is to reach 400 locations and $1 billion in sales.

“We’ve still got a long way to go to reach those targets, but I have zero doubt we’ll get there,” Pointer says. 

To achieve that ambitious aim, Pointer is relentlessly and unapologetically focused on driving revenue “profitably, sustainably and exponentially.” He foresees opening 15 new stores in 2025, a mix of franchised and corporate-owned locations enabling Fleet Feet to maintain its roughly 70/30 split between franchised stores and corporate-owned retail spots. Incorporating – or “converting” – current independent run specialty shops into the Fleet Feet orbit continues to be a growth opportunity for the brand, while Pointer says the company is also exploring international expansion.

“We’re now at the size and scale for these discussions,” he says of opening retail locations beyond the U.S.

Other 2025 priorities include accelerating Fleet Feet’s digital business, especially since most customers start their product searches and discover Fleet Feet online, as well as strengthening Fleet Feet’s brand expression and identity.

“How do we ensure we’re inclusive and welcoming while simultaneously honoring our running heritage?” Pointer asks. “And how do we hit both of these markets with our marketing — and faster?”

To support Fleet Feet’s enterprising objectives, Pointer has continued surrounding himself with talent. In recent months, he’s introduced new roles and expanded the senior team, hiring new vice presidents to oversee IT, supply chain transformation, business operations and marketing and digital. He calls Fleet Feet’s culture “as strong as it’s been” in his 20 years at the company – and reason for daring optimism as Fleet Feet’s 50th anniversary beckons in 2026.

“The level of engagement, enthusiasm and collaboration we have right now is at an all-time high,” Pointer says. “And there’s a universal commitment to be bold and try new things that really excites.”

His recent 12,000-mile odyssey proved as much.