How Hoka Became One Of The Fastest Growing Shoe Brands | Business Insider Explains

Hoka is one of the fastest growing shoe brands you can't step out these days without spotting someone in these funky chunky shoes from Joe Biden to Britney Spears to even your local Barista so how did this Dad sneaker turn into a billion- dooll Enterprise that's taking shelf space away from Nike and Adidas I'm Joy Marie McKenzie and here's the story behind the rise of Hoka the company began in the French Alps and like many sports shoe brands you can trace Hoka Origins back to athletes two entrepreneurs with a passion for Mountain running Jean ldia and Nica mmu were inspired to create a sneaker that worked in all kinds of terrain like dirt lava rocks and even Trails so they founded Hoka in 2009 that same year the brand asked a former marathon world champion Mark plotus to try its prototype for a test run he absolutely fell in love with the extreme cushioning of the shoe and eventually purchased 770 pairs for his athletic work shop Hoka quickly gained respect from Elite Runners and the shoes spread like wildfire among athletes in 2012 the footwork company Deckers purchased Hoka it already owned Brands like ugs and TAA and it planned to turn Hoka into a billion doll line it did just that Hoka passed a billion dollars in 2022 a little more than a decade after its founding Hoka now makes up about 40% of Decker's yearly earnings so let's take a look behind behind the neon and see what made these shoes sell so fast first off they're incredibly comfortable the bottom part of the shoe has what's called a midsole the brand signature it's like this marshmallow like component meant to make you feel like you're flying down Rocky trails and cliffs some experts compare the shoe to a really well pumped mountain bike tire rather than your standard one in fact the name Hoka means to soar or fly in the Indigenous New Zealand Maui language there's also this foot frame that cradles the shoe and the curved part here is the meta rocker which propels the sneaker forward lastly the bright neon colors bold logo and oversized look make these shoes stand out from their competitors so who's wearing them now just about everyone they're popular among healthcare workers who are on their feet all day long the reason I like the hocas is because it has a nice wide toe box to fit my bunion and it also has it passes the shoe test which is it can't be folded in half ah it can't be twisted and the heel the heel counter is very nice and support it but fashionistas love them too here they are on the runway at Nicolo for machet show and let's not forget Hollywood Cameron Diaz Blake Lively and Reese Witherspoon have also sported these kicks but it's not just feel and look it's also hok's business strategy that's helped it grow priced around $125 to well over $250 these kicks are in high demand but the company has been careful not to overpopulate stores it's playing hard to get with customers while the brand is headquartered in the US the shoes are made in China and Vietnam allowing them to keep cost down the company ships to over 60 countries from Chile to Norway and is continuing to expand its customer base in fact in 2023 it launched its first ever collection for kids the company is also gaining traction by collaborating with Brands like free people and designers like Nicole McLaughlin and as the brand keeps growing the stock of Hocus parent company Deckers just keeps moving up last year skyrocketed to 78% but Deckers is still small compared to Legacy Brands like Nike and Adidas in 2023 Nike's Revenue was over $50 billion and Adidas was over $22 billion while Deckers was nearing 4 billion but it is consistently increasing so even though Hoka may be the tortoise in the shoe race right now it's growing fast and it's in it for the long run

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 125,436

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, hoka, sneakers

Id: ldR4LI6Lck4

Length: 4min 15sec (255 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2024