looking for ways to continue to maximise what’s happening in superior cushioning but we are looking for ways that continue to push our products forward and separate Hoka,” Robin Green, Hoka president, told Inside Retail. According to Green, Hoka is focused on “zigging” when the competition is “zagging” by spending a lot of time with consumers to deep dive into what runners look for in high-performance footwear. “I think runners gravitate to Hoka because Hoka is very authentic to itself. It’s not trying to be another brand, and I think it’s something that makes the brand really unique and special,” Green expressed. Innovation is entwined into Hoka’s DNA – every new product launch is grounded in years of research, engineering and testing. Its latest release, the Bondi 9 is no exception. When to innovate and iterate product Hoka’s original Bondi came to market in 2011 and revolutionised the performance shoe industry with its balance of extremely lightweight materials paired with maximal cushioning. It didn’t take long before the Bondi earned a cult following and runners that were once loyal to a heritage athletic brand switched to Hoka’s. “We wanted to make it feel like you’re floating, like you’re literally gliding through the shoe,” Green stated. The Bondi 9 is an example of Hoka’s commitment to continually tinkering and improving signature models to bring the very best to its consumers – but Hoka knows that updating runners’ signature shoes can be a slippery slope. “We don’t just bring products out for the sake of iteration after iteration. It needs to be an intentional update to give something special to the runner that’s looking for a shoe,” Green said. The last Bondi shoe was updated two years ago, and since its launch the brand had spent significant resources consulting runners to gain insight into what would make the next shoe better, “but still a Bondi,” Green said. “So when you come and buy the Bondi 9, you’re like, ‘Yes, this is my Bondi. I’m excited to buy this, it’s still my shoe but it’s giving me an even better running experience’,” she added. Creating a community beyond the shoe The international launch of the new shoe, like most of the brand’s releases, looks to activate the entire running community through a series of talks, events, races and activities. “When we launch a shoe, we don’t just put a shoe on the shelf and expect people to just love it, we engage with the community,” Green explained. “We want to make sure that everyone’s not only educated about the product but they’re brought into the actual launch of the shoe as well – they’re bringing the shoe to life, it’s not just the brand that’s doing it,” she added. Hoka shoes were initially embraced by ultramarathon runners but were quickly embraced by a broader fashion-forward demographic, prompting the brand to build upon its lifestyle category. “In the lifestyle range we have things like the Bondi Stealth, it’s a previous version of a Bondi but it’s re-veneered and re-engineered from a style perspective to cater to somebody who just wants to wear a casual style forward Bondi,” shared Green. While Hoka’s lifestyle range is gaining traction, its vision to invent shoes for core runners across road, track and trail remains clear. “Product Innovation is performance-driven. The way we test the product is performance driven and the way we market the shoe will always be performance driven,” concluded Green.