Sad day for the Charlotte area tri scene.

It seems the IOS supported the Raleigh area stores far more than Charlotte. The Charlotte market is bigger than Raleigh but the competition seems more in Clt with IOS having a much larger market share in Raleigh. Cannot blame IOS for making an economic decision. Hopefully they can re-open at a new location but I think they would have announced that now if it was in the works.

Bummer,
GS

Agree. Agree. This is stinky mcstinkface news for sure. They've done all the work on my bikes for the last 6 years.

---

Proud Member of Chris McDonald's 2018 Big Sexy Race Team "That which doesn't kill me, will only make me stronger"
Blog-Twitter-Instagram-Race Reports - 2018 Races: IM Florida 70.3, IM Raleigh 70.3, IM 70.3 World Championships - South Africa, IM North Carolina 70.3

Yeah, in all of their social media posts, it has always seemed like the Charlotte store didn't even exist. I liked the store (and the people there), but I'm just not sure that part of town is the right location.

Wow I was literally just in the store this past Wednesday as I was in Charlotte on business. I'd seen their ads and literally drove by it on accident on my way to an appointment and decided to pop my head in just to check it out. Nice store and nice people. Even though I'm not a local, I'm inclined to agree with others that that's an odd location for them. I saw a lot more people riding up in the Lake Norman area. I spent about four days in the Myers Park and Barclay Downs area and I don't think I saw a single person out riding even though the weather was beautiful (then again that area doesn't seem well suited to riding other than possibly commuting to/from work).

As I side note, I went into Golden Cow Creamery (for science) and I can confirm they have excellent ice cream :)

@ GP, the Barclay Downs or Southpark area are pretty commercialized and little riding is done there. In the Meyers Park area you do get a good number of people doing the bootey loop, a 4-5 mile loop in a very upscale old neighbor that goes by Queens college. I live in the LKN area and work in downtown or uptown Charlotte. There are rides in the business park in Clt and used to be Tues & Thurs rides from IOS sports that headed out towards the airport. If you are in town again and looking for rides please pm me here.

On the IOS Clt store, I believe there was some zoning issues that limited the signage. Your feedback that you could go right by the store and not notice it was there was common. In general the South end area where the store is located is seeing a lot of turnover of retail space as the real estate pricing is extremely strong. From my perspective the issue with IOS picking a suburban location is that it would be a difficult choice. Choose north or LKN area, customers from uptown and areas south or southwest are not going to travel north as the infrastructure or roads are terrible. Similar circumstance if they head south. There are also some established shops in the northern and southern suburbs.

I hope the employees find a place as they were very dedicated to the community and gave extensive support to the local tri and running community.

Best,
GS

Imagine 10 years ago when the store first opened...that area was COMPLETELY different. (although you're not a local, but as a real estate person I'm sure you can appreciate how quickly and dramatically an area can change). Break ins at the store were about a 2-4x/year occurrence up until maybe...2012. Now, if anything, it makes the owners (also the owners of the building in a partnership) look pretty smart...

Just read in the IOS newsletter that a new location two doors down from the existing location is opening up.

Inside-Out Sports Charlotte is Relocating!
It's official. Inside-Out Sports' Charlotte store is moving two doors down from our previous location on South Church Street. Same great service, same unparalleled expertise, same convenient location, and more of the latest and greatest cutting edge products. Stay tuned for more information about our Grand Re-Opening!

Very good news for those of us in or near Charlotte.

Best,
GS