In the distant past, buying a pair of running shoes meant travelling down to a physical retail store to look at what are available. At the same time, the salesperson will try to learn about their customers’ requirement and recommend a certain pair. While this remains true today, digitalization and online shopping have augmented the physical experience at the stores. Comparison between brands, sites, and product models can be made within minutes if not seconds.

The onset of COVID-19 has significantly bolstered online shopping. Lockdowns and closure of physical stores meant that consumers would need to go online to buy their needs. This is not limited to grocery shopping but also many other items, including running shoes. Even before COVID-19, e-comms sites such as Zalora has started the trend of online shopping, catering especially for the Gen Z and Millennials. A Visa study in 2021 shown that nearly three in four consumers in Singapore are shopping more frequently online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

7 Alternatives

As such, for runners who are looking to make their purchase online or to do a quick comparison, here are 7 alternative sources to buy your next running shoes. This list of 7 excludes the online channel maintained by the brands (e.g., Nike, Adidas) themselves.

iRUN

iRUN is one of the running speciality-stores in Singapore. Since the pandemic, iRUN has vastly improved their webpage and now has one of the best webpages for user-friendly experience. iRUN carried many different brands such as:

  1. Adidas,
  2. ASICS,
  3. HOKA,
  4. New Balance,
  5. Nike,
  6. ON,
  7. Puma,
  8. Saucony, and
  9. Under Armour.

In terms of delivery options, iRUN can ship both domestically (within Singapore) and internationally. The delivery fee for local delivery is free for orders above S$80.00. For internationally shipping, the company uses DHL as their agent and the relevant shipping fee applies. For full information, you can refer to their webpage here. iRUN also carries other items such as apparel, sunglasses, a few nutrition, and most recently smartwatches.

Lastly, iRUN also maintains 4 outlets in Singapore located primarily in the central region. The 4 outlets are located at Queensway Shopping Centre, 313 Somerset, Far East Plaza, and Peninsula Plaza. Link to iRUN’s webpage is below.

Webpage: iRUNSG

Key Power Sports

Key Power Sports or Key Power International is a Singapore based company established in 2006. The company was founded by runners and triathletes and focuses on the distribution and retailing of performance sporting goods. Key Power Sports features a clean and simple webpage with crucial information readily available. Aside from the widely known brands, Key Power Sports also carries unique brands not found in other retailers. Brands carried by Key Power Sports include:

  1. Altra
  2. ASICS
  3. Brooks Running
  4. Craft
  5. Hoka
  6. Newton Running
  7. Xtep

In terms of delivery options, Key Power Sports can deliver to countries in the Asia and Oceanic regions. This includes, in no specific order, the following countries:

Table 1: Delivery Fees by Country, Key Power Sports

The company also carries other items such as apparel, accessories such as nutrition, hydration, caps, and others. Lastly, Key Power Sports has 2 stores in the central region of Singapore, one is in Paragon, Orchard and the other is Velocity @ Novena Square.

Webpage: Key Power Sports

Red Dot Running Company

Red Dot Running Company (RDRC) is a company started by a group of runners with a focus on trail and ultra-runners. RDRC works closely with niche brands to provide for adventurers with the necessary kit. RDRC also maintains a community of enthusiastic runners through various platforms and events. Brands carried by RDRC includes:

  1. Vibram,
  2. Xero,
  3. Altra,
  4. Hoka,
  5. Saucony,
  6. Topo Athletic,
  7. Speedland.

Other items carried by RDRC includes accessories such as apparel, hats from Ciele, T8, and other cool stuffs like hydration and headlamps. In terms of delivery options, RDRC has free local delivery for orders more than S$150 while international delivery will be dependent on the weight of the parcel. RDRC has one physical retail store located in the central area of Singapore, 108 Sims Avenue.

Webpage: Red Dot Running Company

Running Lab

Running Lab is a speciality running store owned by Outdoor Venture. The stores are staffed by experienced runners as well as sports trainers who seeks to provide advice and assistance and match the needs of their customers. To do so, Running Lab is often equipped with in-house treadmill used for gait analysis as well as trial runs for customers. Brands carried by Running Lab includes:

  1. ON,
  2. Hoka,
  3. Salomon,
  4. ASICS,
  5. Saucony,
  6. New Balance.

Running Lab also carries apparel, electronics (headphones), accessories, nutrition among other items for the running sports. The online store operates through the Outdoor Venture e-comms page which only ship domestically. In terms of delivery options, domestic shipping is free for purchases above S$80. For international shipping, Running Lab does have Shopee, Lazada, and Qoo10 online platforms for sales. However, it is recommended for buyers to check if Running Lab ships to your country prior to purchase.

Webpage: Running Lab

Royal Sporting House

The Royal Sporting House (RSH) is a multi-brand sports retailer established in 1977. RSH is currently owned by the Gulf Marketing Group after it was bought over from Al-Futtaim in 2021. RSH is reported to have over 550 retail stores in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Aside from running sports equipment, RSH also carried swimming as well as indoor sports equipment such as tennis. Brands carried by RSH includes:

  1. Adidas,
  2. Puma,
  3. Nike,
  4. Reebok,
  5. Under Armour.

In terms of delivery option, RSH only deliver locally, and we are unable to verify if RSH ships locally in Malaysia and Hong Kong. Delivery is free for orders above S$89.00. 

Webpage: Royal Sporting House

Zalora

Zalora is a leading fashion, beauty, and lifestyle online ecomms platform in Asia. It has presence in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and in Taiwan. Zalora is a company under the Global Fashion group (GFG) a publicly traded e-comms company on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Zalora maintains webpages for each country they are in, as such the information here might differ from that in other countries. While Zalora is not a dedicated running shoes company, it does have running shoes being sold on its platform albeit limited. These brands includes,

  1. 361 Degree,
  2. Adidas,
  3. Anta,
  4. New Balance,
  5. Nike,
  6. Puma,
  7. Reebok,
  8. Under Armour,
  9. North Face.

In terms of delivery options, Zalora offers multiple options with express services costing more than general shipping. The general shipping policy at Zalora is free with a minimum spending of S$50 and the company maintain a 30-days return policy with conditions.

Webpage: Zalora

JD Sports

The last company in the list is JD Sports. JD Sports is a sports fashion, multi-channel retailer. Based in the UK, JD Sports Fashion Plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Like Zalora, JD Sports maintains country specific webpages for online shopping. JD Sports operates in majority of the countries, in Asia Pacific, Europe, as well as North America. JD Sports carries brands such as,

  1. Nike,
  2. Adidas,
  3. Puma,
  4. Reebok.

JD Sports offers free standard delivery for their orders above S$100. In addition to running shoes, JD Sports is also a popular retailer for sneakers and other lifestyle products such as apparel.

Webpage: JD Sports Singapore

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