Chunky, dorky, dad-like, and highly profitable. Hoka’s most popular shoes, the Bondi and Clifton, have a broad appeal for runners and non-runners, fueling the brand’s success.
Hoka’s sales have increased 35% in the last year, driving parent company Deckers Outdoor Corporation’s profits and stock up. Deckers’s share have grown 105% in the past year, almost tripling the growth of the S&P 500.
“The Hoka Clifton is our most popular shoe,” says Phil Snyder, 55, who manages BP-RUN-CO, a specialty running store in Wheat Ridge, CO. “There is nothing overly exciting about the shoe. It has a lot of lightweight cushioning. It’s like a sedan, like a Honda Civic. It’s your daily driver.”
Hoka’s success has stemmed from building an unglamorous shoe designed for average runners, not elites, at a time when running shoes have become trendy. The brand has become so popular that it’s now sought after for non-runners who are on their feet all day, like nurses, or even people wanting to make a fashion statement.
“We’re seeing outsized growth at Hoka”, said Rick Patel, managing director of equity research at Raymond James. “The brand is doing well across channels, across geographies, and across product lines.”
The Hoka story started by being a contrarian. The brand built maximalist running shoes in the early 2010’s, when minimalist running shoes had suddenly become popular. The book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall came out in 2009. It told the story of the Tarahumara, an indigenous population who ran barefoot in Mexico. McDougall said running with less cushion was good for you because it improved your form. The book became a best-seller, and running brands came out with an array of less-cushioned shoes.
Hoka bet against that movement, and it paid off. When founders Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoud launched the brand in the French Alps in 2009, they sought to build a highly-cushioned shoe that would help trail runners go downhill faster. It turns out, more cushion makes most runners feel better on any surface.
Hoka’s timing was impeccable. When few brands carried highly-cushioned shoes, their clunky design stood out. The brand grew rapidly in the mid-2010’s, and its growth was bolstered by running’s popularity during the pandemic. With gyms closed, more people started buying running shoes.
People who worked on their feet all day, like nurses and servers, also flocked to the shoe for its comfort.
“You see Hoka’s everywhere now,” said Cassidy Heaton, 29, a full-time employee at Bull City Running, a specialty running store in Durham, North Carolina. “People see them on the feet of their doctors and people at the grocery store. They have a distinctive look, which has become mainstream. We see all these other brands mimicking it now.”
Deckers bought Hoka in 2012 when the brand’s sales were a puny $3 million. Hoka’s sales were at $571 million in the most recent quarter.
Deckers made $733 million in profit last quarter, up more than 25% from last year. Net sales for the company are expected to grow 12% to $4.8 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025.
Hoka sells a “Ferrari” shoe, too, but that’s not its forte because of the dominance that Nike has on the “super shoe” market. A super shoe is a lightweight shoe that runners use during long-distance races like the marathon. In 2017, Nike released the Vaporfly 4%, the first version of a super shoe. The most recent men’s and women’s marathon records were broken by athletes wearing a version of Nike’s super shoe. Nike got a head start on that innovation, and other brands have been unable to catch up.
“With supershoes, so much of it is about name recognition and people think of the Nike Vaporfly and Alpafly”, Heaton added. “All other brands are having a tough time cracking that market.”
Luckily for Hoka, super shoes don’t drive sales. Average runners simply don’t buy them very often because they’re expensive, often costing upwards of $250, and because they’re mostly used for racing, meaning you can hold onto one pair for much longer than a typical trainer. The daily driver shoes that Hoka is known for are better for profits.
To be sure, there is some worry that the chunky styling that’s given Hoka staying power even with non-runners will go out of style. Some fear the clunky running shoe bubble will burst.
“We could see a time when Hoka shoes fall out of favor because after all, they’re pretty weird-looking,” said David Swartz, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “Since Hoka is mostly footwear and not apparel, if its footwear falls out of style, that would be bad.”
For now though, Hoka is dad-shoeing its way into record growth.