HOKA History
Unless you are already familiar with the brand HOKA was mainly founded to fill a niche in the running and hiking community. HOKA was founded in 2009 by Nicolas Mermoud and Jean-Luc Diard, the brand’s name itself is derived from the Maori language phrase “hoka one one,” which translates to “fly over the earth.” Shoes that felt like you were flying when wearing them was their main goal at the time. The founders were not satisfied with the current market of hiking shoes and boots, and their mission was to make a more cushiony shoe with extra support for downhill running especially. This idea led to their niche of having huge thick soles that some found unattractive. Soon their appearance was known everywhere as the “Ugly design” but athletes tried them and liked them so HOKA generated more business and clicks. HOKA solved a common issue with a seemingly intentional design to make the shoes feel more comfortable and airy. One problem the brand could have brought them down is their price. HOKA tennis shoes typically cost $150 or more so it is easy to understand why it would be a hard decision to buy them or not since you might not know if they are the right shoe for you. Lots recommend trying them for a day at home to see if they really are worth it for your lifestyle if possible. Down below is a link to their website to check out if you would like.
Transition of the Market
As mentioned earlier HOKA was first only popular with athletes, but this soon changed. After athletes promoted the brand and stated their very positive experience HOKA soon started seeing more business growth with the general public becoming interested in the brand. How many people have you seen wearing HOKA’s around? If you notice the brand in daily practice HOKA stands out much more than other athletic shoe brands as seen by the thick soles, bright colors, and prominent logo. Now because of the transition of the market more and more recreational buyers are becoming regular customers and admirers of the brand. HOKA has now branched out to more types of shoes and clothing due to their rising success.
Conclusion
HOKA took a huge risk when designing the first prototype of their shoes. However, the founders had their minds set on trying to fix the hole they saw in the mountain hiking shoe community. Even though they were criticized at first, they stuck to the niche they had created and it paid off. The moral of the story is to first find out what problem you are trying to fix or help. Next, come up with a plan or idea and test it on a smaller group and see if the idea helps or hurts the problem. Lastly, conclude if the testing failed or succeeded. From there try another idea/ or if it succeeds go on from there and bounce ideas or new plans off of the original idea and create more that complement it. Even if you are weary of the success run with it you never know if it will grow to what you would like it to without building off of it.
One Response
Over the past couple of years, I have seen more and more people wearing Hoka’s as casual shoes. They capture people’s eyes with their thick soles and unique colors. It seems like they were able to grow their niche product within their smaller community which then got more attention and spread to different audiences.