It is always a pleasure for me to see a brand experience or pop-up which offers something truly innovative or engaging for both consumers and the wider industry. The recently unveiled HOKA pop-up store is just such an experience.
I have written before about the impressive rise of HOKA, its dedication to its own brand identity, and ability to speak to the trends and desires which are driving its consumers. HOKA has tackled the heavily saturated sneaker market, taking on giant players such as Adidas and Nike with a focus on comfort and lifestyle offer, along with a design which offer a newness and charisma which speaks to those seeking a product and brand which represent them.
The new HOKA store in Bethnal Green taps into this perfectly. For starters, it is not a running centre, or a shoe store – it is a corner shop. Designed in the style of convenience stores which appear on streets across the UK, this new outlet taps into the brand’s contrary nature and delivers something which does not promise slick and fashion-forward, but something practical, reliable and – somehow – cool.
The new HOKA store in Bethnal Green…is not a running centre, or a shoe store – it is a corner shop
The “immersive space”, as the brand calls it, is branded as the Run Stop Corner Shop, and comes complete with a working ATM which offers ‘hokens’ that guests can exchange for snacks, scratch cards, and the chance to compete for prizes including trainers and a spot in the Hackney Half Marathon. The back of the store also casts off the corner shop aesthetic to reveal a ‘FlyLab’ which will host brand experiences in the future.
This new opening from HOKA is a brilliant example of taking your brand experience and engagement to the next level by elevating it beyond its natural category. It joins a series of similarly excellent pop-up experiences, such as Ralph’s Coffee Bar from Ralph Lauren, the LEGO florist, Valentino Beauty’s collaboration to open a bakery with Butterfly + Creamorous or brands such as Burberry, Berluti or Gucci, who have all created experiential vans to engage consumers.
This new opening is a brilliant example of taking your brand experience and engagement to the next level by elevating it beyond its natural category
The key point here is creating a brand experience which is bigger than the product. One which can be recognisably delivered in a manner and location which is not your brand’s natural niche. In this way, brands can meet consumers where they are. They can offer a true lifestyle experience, leveraging the full power of physical retail.
Engaging shoppers ‘where they are’ has traditionally been the preserve of digital retail and engagement, but as HOKA and others are proving, when done right, physical retail can play in that space too. And it can play well.