Dave Powers: The Meteoric Rise of Hoka Running | E1098

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Dave Powers serves as President and CEO of Deckers Brands, a global footwear and apparel company where he focuses on the company’s five high-performing brands: UGG®, Teva®, Sanuk®, HOKA One One® and Koolaburra®. Prior to Deckers, he held executive leadership roles at Converse and Timberland, where he led worldwide retail merchandising, marketing, visual and store design as well as the creation of a sustainable line of footwear and apparel.
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(01:11) Childhood Ambitions
(02:28) Lessons from Converse, Timberland
(05:34) Preventing Workplace Politics
(08:00) Relaxed vs. Mercenary Cultures
(11:09) Hoka Brand Success
(14:10) Impact of Growth Targets
(16:49) Retail Partnership Challenges
(20:38) Hoka's Asian Expansion
(25:48) Sneaker Industry Trends
(29:21) Competitive Footwear Strategies
(31:05) UGG's Success Journey
(35:15) Reviving UGG's Decline
(37:56) Motivating Teams
(40:38) Hero Product Importance
(44:48) Abercrombie Brand Analysis
(01:05:16) Quick-Fire Round
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In Today’s Episode with Dave Powers:
1. The Unlikely CEO of a Global Footwear Company:
How did Dave make his way into the world of consumer and fashion from the ground up?
Why did Dave never think he was the type of person to be a CEO?
What does Dave know now that he wishes he had known when he started his career?
2. From $1.1M Acquisition to $1.4BN Revenues: The Hoka Story:
Why did Deckers acquire Hoka for $1.1M? What did they see in this, at the time, futuristic running shoe that no one else saw?
Was the growth of Hoka linear or were there needle-moving moments that propelled the brand?
What did they do so right that led to their success?
What would Dave have done differently in the Hoka journey if he had his time again?
3. From $14.7BN Acquisition to Oprah’s Favourite: The UGG Journey:
How much of a needle mover was it for UGG when Oprah added it to her list of favourite items?
Why did UGG go through a tough period? What did they do wrong?
What does it take to resurrect a brand? How can they bring UGG back to life and make it cool?
4. From Abercrombie to LVMH: An Analysis of the Industry:
How does Dave analyse the rise and fall of Abercrombie and Hollister? Where did it go wrong?
What does Dave believe LVMH are the best in the world at? What does he learn from them?
How important is it for consumer companies to have a hero product?
How can consumer companies scale to mass markets without losing their core audience?
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[@Errearrea14]

We live in an era of health anxiety and this is also something that contributes to the success of these niche running, hiking and gymwear brands. Ordinary people justify spending hundreds of pounds even if they are just starting out and even if they will not use the products that often, because they see it as investing in their health. It's a great time to own one of these brands.

[@candicewilliams8620]

What a great interview. Learned a lot and entertained at the same time.

[@audaciouscrossfit4819]

20:17...Bowerman said, "if you have a body, then you are an athlete."

[@brightonguvamombe4071]

I have watched a bunch of Podcasts, the type of questions and how you ask them kept me engaged and i took a lot from this. Would love someone like you to have such conversations with African CEOs.

[@jojosthenewblack]

Fantastic interview! I love the no nonsense! I must say I bought sneakers for the first time in years, and I tried on Hoka and found them to hurt my feet! I have slightly wider feet than normal, and I can’t wear Nike either. I can’t believe I’ve had to get New Balance like the grandpas I saw growing up, but this is the truth. I haven’t worn them yet, opting instead for North Face booties, but I thought you would like this information and I want to thank you for the interview and video! Cheers!

[@naveenreddy4649]

you should try bond 8 it has 2x and 4x wide. i also have wide feet and hoka is most convenient shoes Ive ever wore and look good.

[@khushilunkad5544]

Don't have Hokas where I live but it's similar to the Ferrari story. Enzo Ferrari built a product around racing. F1 is their biggest brand advertisement. Hokas is built for performance/ running. Races are also one of the best ads since you see athletes wearing them

[@chrisb481]

Brilliant!! This is better than an mba 😂

[@SpaceGiraff3]

Just looked at my feet and realized I'm wearing Hokas.