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well as spending marketing dollars on community events. Nardone said, "If you go to a specialty run store and you sit down in the chair to get fit, the person that's helping you can only bring back out three boxes. So even if there's 10 great brands, they're only going to come out with three boxes to start. So that's why it's so important for the staff at specialty run retailers to be very well educated on the differences in all these shoes." Run Footwear's Potential Disruptors Analysts remain generally bullish on both Hoka and On's growth prospects although how their distribution and segmentation strategies evolve will be closely followed. Nardone said, "It's very important for these brands not to be near-term sighted and just chase growth and flood the market with product." For Hoka, one concern is whether the brand can develop more of a lifestyle look to expand beyond the run specialty channel, where it shares about half of the market share with Brooks. Williams' Poser noted that both Ugg and Crocs were roundly considered "ugly" shoes but have since earned wide acceptance. Stichter is confident Hoka is taking steps to support key specialty run partners, such as providing exclusive product or colors, as it expands via DTC (direct-to-consumer) and other more lifestyle channels. She observed, "Specialty run was what put them on the map. It gives them credibility with real runners." On is generally seen as having more room for growth with still minimal share in run specialty and the model's look seen having more of a lifestyle opportunity. Stichter said she will be closely watching innovation in the space. She said, "ere was a lot of sameness in the innovations at e Running Event in Austin, where everyone was doing really good things but a lot of the same things. I think it's becoming harder to find that next innovation to differentiate yourself." Poser said max cushioning is "very comfortable" and aligns with the resilient comfort footwear trend but the technology has to continually evolve to remain relevant. He said, "ings that don't change get stale." Analysts will also be closely following the competitive landscape. e return of juggernauts such as Nike and Adidas in particular can possibly increase the size of the running shoe market by taking more share away from categories such as dress shoes but may also take share away from existing players. Nardone called out Nike as particularly appearing to be making "a much bigger commitment to the channel" with signs of investments back in its EKIN rep force and promising innovations in the Pegasus Premium and Vomero 18 that features the tallest stack height (46mm) in the franchise's history. "All these brands are kind of fighting at each other's necks so it's going to be very, very competitive," said Nardone. "e category is growing and that's helpful, but in a couple years there's probably going to be only a couple winners that emerge as share gainers." n 10 • January/February 2025 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com NEWS & ANALYSIS "The best brands recognize they have to sit next to their other competitors [at run specialty] to win. That was one of the mistakes that Nike made." SAM POSER, WILLIAMS TRADING "All these brands are kind of fighting at each other's necks so it's going to be very, very competitive. The running category is growing and that's helpful, but in a couple years there's probably going to be only a couple winners that emerge as share gainers." CHRIS NARDONE, BANK OF AMERICA The max cushioning trend, now embraced by most brands after being pioneered by Hoka, also fits squarely within the broader comfort footwear trend, increasing the appeal and overall growth opportunity of running styles for everyday wear.

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