Kent’s Second Sole shoe store, which is adjacent to Starbucks and Campus Book and Supply, is closing March 31. 

Second Sole sales associate Stephen Fischer said the running-shoe store, which opened in winter 2011, did not do enough business in Kent.

“I think it’s partly [closing] because people didn’t know we were here and we didn’t advertise well enough,” Fischer said. “We did sell mostly everything at retail value, which could have hurt us.”

Fischer said the store is one of several Second Sole locations, and the thriving Akron branch will remain open. 

“It’s just like the perfect spot for that store pretty much ’cause it’s right in a really rich area, and it’s right at the apex of a bunch of running trails, so a lot of people go and run and then buy some new shoes or something,” he said. “There’s a lot of loyal customers for Second Sole.”

Fischer said the Kent branch only had three employees, but they will all be offered some hours at the Akron branch.

Kent’s Second Sole is having a 50 percent off everything sale to try to free up some inventory before the store closes March 31.

“We’re not making money with this sale,” Fischer said. “Our inventory was full at the Akron store, so basically, we just wanted to get rid of all this stuff, get it all sold so that we could be out by the end of the month.”

Contact Carrie Blazina at [email protected].