By Heather Lusk
After four years serving Zionsville, Endurance House will close its location on South Main Street. The Fishers store will remain open.
“It’s a blow to the running community,” Zionsville resident Mike Cole said. He said he appreciated that Endurance House has sponsored so many local running events and activities over the years, including his own.
“I get it,” Cole said. “I’m a businessman.”
The increase in online shopping didn’t help. The National Retail Federation reported that retail holiday sales grew 2.9 percent last year while online sales grew 11.5 percent.
Co-owner Jay Miller concedes that many, including himself, shop online but reminds people to support local businesses.
“You don’t see Amazon’s name on many local race sponsorships,” he said.
Miller said most customers don’t realize that because of minimum advertised pricing with their vendors, the price is the same online as in stores but without the service.
“A lot of people think, you come into a specialty retailer our prices are higher but they aren’t. They’re all regulated,” he said.
Miller noted that it’s not just small businesses impacted by online shopping, but all brick and mortar is suffering.
The closure of stores nationwide has been dubbed the “retail apocalypse.” The number of planned major store closings announced so far in 2019 is approximately 4,800 according to an analysis by Coresight Research, an increase of 23 percent versus the same time last year.
“The retail environment is changing so quickly,” Miller said.
Because the lease in Zionsville for Endurance House was about to expire, Miller said the time seemed right to make the decision.
“It’s been a great space,” he added.
Franchise agreements require that the store remain open until March 21. All inventory and store fixtures are currently for sale.