In running campaign, Toby’s exerts serious financial muscle

NEW look for the 35-year-old athlete’s store.

Toby’s is now all grown up.

Starting out in 1978 as a 15-square-meter toy store at the Greenhills Shopping Center selling Mickey Mouse items, Toby’s has evolved into a chain of 49 specialty sports shops that is raring to further widen its reach and access new markets.

And to mark its coming of age, Toby’s Sports has kicked off an ambitious campaign to entice more Filipinos to lead a more active and healthy lifestyle, which means exploring the great outdoors or taking up an individual or team sport.

With the theme “It Starts Here,” the campaign also seeks to inspire Filipinos to work to achieve their goals. And for the first time, it tapped celebrity endorsers to relay its message.

ENDORSERS are Azkals star goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, star volleyball player Michele Gumabao, and two-time Most Valuable Player of the PBA, James Yap.

They are Azkals star goalkeeper Neil Etheridge, star volleyball player Michele Gumabao, and two-time Most Valuable Player of the Philippine Basketball Association, James Yap.

“We want to say to our market that we have always been their partner in helping them accomplish their goals. We have been there for 35 years and we remain committed to helping them achieve whatever they want,” says Toby’s Sports president Toby Claudio, after whom the company was named.

Claudio says that, through the years, Toby’s has embarked on similar campaigns to encourage Filipinos to get into sports, but most were sporadic in-store promotions.

For the first time, the sports retailer is putting serious financial muscle behind the campaign.

Aside from the advocacy campaign, Toby’s, which was founded by Toby’s father Roberto and his two brothers, likewise marked its 35th year by updating the look of its branches and adopting a new corporate logo.

The logo, designed by a Japanese firm, features just the word Toby’s and nine dots representing the nine sports and product categories that Filipinos are into.

These are running, basketball, fitness such as weight training and yoga, outdoors such as camping and hiking, water sports, team sports, racquet sports, sports wear and indoor sports such as table tennis.

The relaunch of Toby’s will be complemented by the growth of other concept stores and brands. These include Runnr, a high-end shop with four branches that specializes in running apparel and equipment; Move, which specializes in fitness apparel; and the Brooks concept store.

Claudio says that Toby’s is more fired up than ever to preach the values of taking up a sport and leading a healthy lifestyle considering that an increasing number of Filipinos—especially children and young adults—lead sedentary lives.

“The biggest threat today is inactivity. The kids have so many gadgets, and they are also active on social media so they are always in front of a computer,” says Claudio, who played varsity baseball during his college days at the University of the Philippines.

“I believe it will be good for them to play sports because sports teaches you so many things in life like commitment, discipline and passion for excellence,” adds the former UP shortstop, who got his love for sports from his father and is now passing on the same passion to his two children.

Claudio says that the Toby’s group has been able to serve 15 million customers over the past 35 years, and the hope is to touch the lives of even more Filipinos as its advocacy campaign takes flight and the company elevates its game to yet another level.