Hoka One One Debuts Retail Shops in New York and Los Angeles
Hoka One One now has a retail presence on both the East and West Coast.
Starting today, consumers can shop at the red hot running brand’s pop-up shops in New York City and Los Angeles, which will be open through December. The new physical retail experiences come on the heels of a strong quarter for Hoka, with the brand’s net sales increasing 95.5% to $213.1 million for Q1 for its fiscal 2022.
“While we’ve had incredible growth and momentum, Hoka still has relatively low awareness. Most consumers know Hoka as a performance running brand, which we are at our core. These two pop-up stores will allow us show the full breadth of our line, footwear and apparel,” Delaney said. “These spaces will also allow us to host events and offer programming to welcome consumers into the Hoka brand. We know that post-COVID, consumers crave in-person experiences. Our focus is in developing gathering spaces for our communities that can add value by helping people connect with our brand ambassadors, elite athletes, product experts and each other.”
Norma Delaney, VP of global brand marketing at Hoka, said the brand identified L.A. and NYC as extremely valuable markets, and the specific locations were chosen for their high traffic and positioning within communities that are focused on health and wellness.
The NYC pop-up spans 2,000 square feet of retail space in the Flatiron district, located at 142 Fifth Ave. As for L.A., the 1,000-sq.-ft. door is located at 8551 Melrose Ave. in West Hollywood.
In these locations, shoppers can expect to find Volumental secure 3D foot scanning devices to deliver fit insights and suggest styles, as well as smart lockers so customers can start the day with a run or shop the store hands-free. Also, aside from footwear, the doors will feature Hoka apparel, which has previously only been available via Hokaoneone.com.
The NYC location will be open daily from 11 a.m. ET – 6 p.m. ET, and the L.A. door will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. PT – 7 p.m. PT.
Although e-comm accelerated during COVID-19, people have returned to stores in droves. Because of this need multichannel shopping presence, Delaney said Hoka is focused on allowing shoppers to move between physical retail to e-comm with ease.
“Retail is an important component of our marketplace strategy, however it does not replace wholesale or e-comm — it enhances it,” Delaney said. “Brands win by being responsive to consumer needs across platforms, making each interaction seamless and meaningful. Each interaction should be a peak expression of the brand.”
Although Hoka opened two pop-up shops at the same time, consumers should not expect more to debut this year.
“This is the first opportunity for the brand to jump in and learn what physical retail looks like for Hoka,” Delaney said. “The intention here is to gather learnings about our consumer, their needs and how that can be brought to life through branded retail.”
