Fit to grow

Bill Robinson had been out of the specialty athletic footwear retail business for nearly 15 years when his son, Parks Robinson, reeled him back in.

That was in 2005, when the father and son launched Fit2Run. The idea was to build a chain of stores that put a premium on personalized customer service and offered a smorgasbord of athletic gear and equipment for all levels of athletes. “It's like a candy store for runners,” says Bill Robinson. “If anybody has it, we have it.”

The chain, with a corporate headquarters in Parrish, in north Manatee County, also has some fast growth. It has eight stores, including one at Coconut Point in Estero that opened earlier this year and another location, at the Dadeland Mall in Miami, which opened in April. Other stores are in Gainesville, Orlando, Sarasota-Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Wellington. Combined annual sales at those stores have grown 183% since 2010, from $6 million to $17 million in 2012.