The New York Times is great and finding the trends. They did a great job of promoting and then bashing barefoot running. Yesterday I think Hoka won the day thanks to their latest article.
My thoughts on the subject.
- For the General running public Max Cushion shoes are much better than the barefoot trend.
- Don't believe the Runner's World Guy in the Article, maximal shoes do not promote a barefoot running stride.
- The shoes won't last longer in fact they might last less. I wrote about this subject last week on Shoe Ranger.
- Business: I was in the local running store talking to one of the sales guys. I asked him how many Brooks Adrenaline pairs he sells vs Hoka the brand. He said not even close. Easily 5 Brooks to ever Hoka. That's just one Brooks shoe. Then I went on to explain, Hoka, Newton and Zoot joined the market on the extreme edge of technology or sport. The brand who successfully races to the middle of the shoe wall where the Adrenaline sits will stand a chance to join the exclusive club of top brands. Hoka is headed there. They have a track spike and a middle of the road shoe. Newton is heading there (maybe), Zoot is heading there. There is not room for all three and the general feeling of retailers is "We like you where you are, we have the middle covered". It's going to be fun.
- Business #2: Saucony, Brooks, Asics, Nike and adidas are not sitting back watching Hoka with admiration. They don't sell 550,000 pairs of shoes they sell Millions. Nike and adidas make 550,000 pair mistakes all the time. These brands live in the middle and have no problem racing to the edge from time to time.
It's a good life....
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