Bekah Broe, Hoka | Modern Retail Vanguard 2024
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When two former Salomon employees launched Hoka One One in 2009, the footwear brand primarily centered on performance. Its shoes were meant to allow for faster downhill running – a fact reflected in its namesake, which means “to fly over land” in Maori.
Hoka’s popularity has soared over the past few years as the brand has become a bigger force in the running world. And Bekah Broe, senior director of product for performance footwear at Hoka, is tasked with ensuring the brand’s products are resonating with all kinds of runners, joggers and walkers. Broe joined Hoka three years ago as the director of product for performance footwear and came into her current role in February 2024. She and her team oversee the development and production of new shoes, making sure they carry out the functions that Hoka has in mind.
When Broe started at Hoka in October 2021, Hoka’s quarterly sales stood at $210.4 million. In September 2024, that number was $570.9 million. Hoka’s revenue for fiscal 2024 totaled $1.807 billion – accounting for almost half (42%) of its parent company Deckers’ revenue that year.
Initially, Hoka was known for its oversized midsoles. But throughout the years, Broe has worked to marry Hoka’s longstanding commitment to performance with its commitment to the consumer and what they want.
“I think it becomes challenging sometimes if you only try to focus on prioritizing a technology,” Broe says. “Because to me, it’s actually about how the whole system works together.”
To illustrate that point, Broe points to a concept called “the heart of Hoka.” There are three components to this: midsole cushioning, the active foot frame and the meta rocker. All three are in every Hoka shoe, but the company tweaks each component based on the shoe’s purpose. For instance, a rocker shaped like a banana allows the shoe to quickly touch the ground and push off. The three ideals “give continuity across our entire lineup, but also without making every shoe feel exactly the same,” Broe says.
Hoka’s shoes typically sit on a spectrum that include shoes for speed, as well as shoes for everyday use. But, in a process honed under Broe’s leadership, the shoes increasingly mix and match technology. In early 2024, Broe helped Hoka launch two shoes on opposite parts of the spectrum: the Cielo X1 road racing shoe and the softer Skyward X. Hoka is now taking learnings from each and applying them to other shoes.
“Hoka is so unique because it truly does provide this paradox of experience,” Broe explains. “You find a lot of Hoka products that can be soft but still feel really fast, or be really thick and tall but still very light.”