Summary
Overview
Jean-Luc Diard and Nicolas Mermoux, two elite athletes from the French Alps, founded Hoka after recognizing that runners needed better downhill protection. Drawing on their decades of experience at Salomon, where they pioneered ski innovations, they created an oversized, ultra-cushioned running shoe with a distinctive rocker design. Despite initial skepticism about their 'clown shoes,' the brand exploded from $3 million in 2012 to over $2 billion today, revolutionizing running footwear and making trail running more accessible and enjoyable for millions.
From Salomon Intern to CEO: Learning Innovation Culture
Jean-Luc Diard joined Salomon in 1980 as a 23-year-old intern, where he encountered founder George Salomon's hands-on approach to learning and improvement. This mentorship shaped his philosophy on product development and leadership. Over 27 years, Jean-Luc helped transform Salomon from a ski bindings company doing $70-80 million in revenue to a diversified sports group generating $1.2 billion, pioneering the integration of skis and bindings as unified systems.
- George Salomon took intern Jean-Luc to the ski boot division after a race to understand why he didn't use their boots, demonstrating deep commitment to learning and improvement
- Jean-Luc advocated for Salomon to enter the ski market in 1986, arguing that skis and bindings would become one unit
- Salomon became number one in global ski sales within six years through innovation and young talent
- The company culture emphasized never being satisfied and maintaining constant critical evaluation
- Under Jean-Luc's leadership, Salomon grew from under $100 million to $1.2 billion in revenue
" The special thing with this person, who was an amazing entrepreneur, was that he was very close to everyone. So he would come to the office in the evening where I was and say, so what are you working on and what have you learned. "
" We have sometimes this reputation in France to be a bit critical and to be unsatisfied. It's not always pleasant when you go to a restaurant or you get in a taxi in Paris. But when it comes to innovation, especially if you mix it with our background as mountain people, Salomon embraced it. "
The Innovation Insight: Bigger, Lighter, Better
At the 2007 Outdoor Retailer trade show, Jean-Luc noticed a trend across all sports equipment: products were getting larger and lighter simultaneously while improving performance. Golf club heads grew from 200cc to 350cc, skis became wider, and bike wheels got bigger—all providing more stability and performance to broader groups of athletes. This observation, combined with Nico's racing experience on different surfaces like dead leaves, snow, and lava ash, led them to envision how cushioning could transform running the way it had transformed other sports.
- Trend across sports showed equipment becoming oversized and lighter, changing performance paradigms
- Golf clubs, skis, and bike wheels all demonstrated that larger size provided stability while maintaining or improving performance
- Runners performed dramatically better on soft surfaces like dead leaves, snow, and lava ash compared to hard ground
- The duo had been 'lazy' runners before because traditional running was so punishing compared to other sports they enjoyed
- They established a design center with experienced people, though suppliers initially doubted the unconventional approach
" We can name a lot of things like that where we saw that oversize and lighter enabled to change paradoxes, to change paradigms. And you brought performance more to a bigger group. "
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