Athletic Footwear Sales Overview December 2013

Athletic Footwear Sales Overview December 2013

December 2013 Footwear overview

  • December is the largest month of the year for Sport Footwear. The week of Christmas and the week after are the two largest sales weeks of the entire year.
  • Sales of Sport Footwear grew in December in the mid singles in dollars, in line with the year to date trend.  Sales for November and December combined, were up in the low singles on the “lost” holiday week
  • Unit sales of Sport Footwear for December grew in the low singles resulting in low single digit increase in average selling price.
  • Men’s Footwear grew in the mid singles, while Women’s declined in the low singles and Kids had a high single digit increase
  • Basketball had another strong month, up in the high teens driven by gains in Nike  brand Basketball
  • Running is less important in December than in other months.  Sales increased in the mid singles.
  • Outdoor Footwear in the athletic retailers was down in the low singles.  In the Outdoor market only, sales grew in the low singles

December 2013 Footwear sales by channel

  • Sales on the Internet grew almost 25% and were nearly 16% of all sneakers sold in the retailers we measure.
  • Sales in Full Line Sporting Goods/Athletic Specialty grew in the low singles
  • Running Specialty grew  in the mid singles, off of previous trend, likely dampened but the seasonably cold weather
  • Family Footwear had a decline for the period, as they cannot leverage the marquee Basketball success

December 2013 brand share

  • Nike brand market share grew nearly 200 basis points to 42% on a high singles sales gain.  Nike showed strength in Basketball and Running which offset weakness in Casual and Outdoor. Jordan posted a mid-single digit increase, well off the year to date pace as holiday releases were weak versus last year. Converse had a low teens decline.
  • The 59.9% share for all Nike brands combined is the largest share we’ve ever recorded for December.
  • Adidas held share at 7.7% on a low single digit sales gain. Adidas had strong month in Running and a good month in Basketball which offset weakness in Casual.  Casual is Adidas’ largest category in the US. Reebok continued to improve with sales down in the low teens.  Reebok should go positive in Q1. Reebok showed continued strength in Training
  • Skechers posted a 20% increase for December.  New Balance continued to struggle
  • Asics had a high single digit increase for the month, while the other  core Running brands struggled, likely on the weather
  • Under Armour had a high single digit increase for the month in Footwear, well off the year to date pace. UA Basketball was actually negative and Running only up high singles.
  • Timberland had a sizzling December, up 40%, while The North Face was flat and Merrell and Keen both had declines in athletic retailers. Sales were better in Outdoor retailers

 

December 2013 Top Selling models

1.      JORDAN RETRO 12 MID         $158.84

2.      JORDAN RETRO 11                 $170.86

3.      NIKE FREE 5.0+                        $94.57

4.      W NIKE FREE 5.0+ `                 $94.79

5.      K JORDAN RETRO 11              $125.72

6.      NIKE FLEX RUN 2013               $71.41

7.      K NIKE KD 6                             $99.18

8.      NIKE AIR MONARCH IV           $48.12

9.      NIKE ROSHE RUN                    $69.09

10.  JORDAN 6 RINGS                     $158.55

11.  NIKE AIR MAX+ 2013              $155.66

12.  JORDAN RETRO 5 MID           $168.07

13.  TIMBERLAND 10061               $174.53

14.  K NIKE LEBRON XI                   $138.84

15.  K NIKE ZM SOLDIER 7                         $92.80

16.  NIKE ZOOM SOLDIER 7           $120.92

17.  CONVERSE ALL STAR OXFORD $41.99

18.  W NIKE FLEX RUN 2013          $67.28

19.  TIMBERLAND WHITE LEDGE $79.10

20.  NIKE FREE TRAINER 5.0          $86.66

21.  NIKE DUNK LOW PRO                         $84.14

22.  NIKE SB ZOOM STEFAN          $77.11

23.  NIKE AIR MAX 90                    $96.20

24.  W NIKE FLEX TRAINER 3         $49.44

25.  NIKE HYPERDUNK 13              $128.32

 

Of the top selling 250 models

  • Nike had 110 (44%)
  • Jordan, 36 (14%)
  • Asics, 16
  • Timberland 14
  • Skechers 12
  • New Balance 9
  • Adidas, 7
  • Brooks, 7
  • Converse, 6

 

Basketball

  • Basketball had a strong December, up in the high teens.
  • However, Jordan was not the driver as Jordan sales only improved in the high single digits, well off the year to date pace.
  • The Jordan releases for December were not as strong as last year and the quantities appeared more limited.  My estimate is that Retro Jordan’s were relatively flat compared to last year
  • The big driver for December was Nike brand Basketball, particularly around their three marquee players James, Durant, and Bryant.
  • Nike Brand Basketball sales grew more than 40% for December
  • Nike had 39.4% share in Basketball; Jordan had 53.9, giving Nike Inc. 93.3% share in the US retail Basketball market
  • Adidas Basketball improved in the high singles with 4.8% share.  Reebok Basketball also grew in the high singles with 1% share.
  • Under Armour Basketball declined in the low teens and share fell to 0.8%.
  • The Family Channel grew Basketball in the low teens, but only has 3.2% share of the market, which is dominated by Athletic Specialty. There, sales grew in the high teens

Running

  • Running shoes sales grew in the mid singles in December, off the high single digit year to date pace.
  • Cushioning Running declined in the low teens, Stability declined in the mid singles and Motion control improved in the low teens
  • Minimalist/Barefoot grew about 30%, but that all came from Nike Free and Flex. Nike Minimalist had 92% share and sales grew by about half.  All the other brands combined declined by about half.  Non-Nike Minimalist shoes were about 2% of all Running shoes sold.
  • In overall Running, Nike had 64% share and sales improved in the low teens.
  • Asics had 12% share on a high singles sales gain
  • Adidas Running sales grew 25% with 3.3% share.  Under Armour Running grew in the high singles
  • Brooks, Mizuno and Saucony all posted declines for the month of December

Outdoor

  • Even with the cold and snowy weather, sales of Outdoor Footwear in Sports retailers were only flat for December.
  • Timberland was the standout brand with sales up 40%.  Columbia Footwear grew about 25%.
  • The North Face Footwear was flat and Keen had a decline.
  • Nike Outdoor Footwear was down about -40%

December 2013 Apparel Overview

  • Sales of Sport Apparel for December 2013 grew in the mid-teens in dollars.  Sales for November and December combined grew in the low teens.
  • Men’s Sport Apparel grew in the low teens while Women’s and Kids grew in the high teens
  • Outerwear sales grew in the high singles.  Fleece improved about 25%.  Active Tops were up about 20% while Active Bottoms improved in the high singles.  Undergarments were up in the mid singles.
  • Under Armour had a huge December with sales up about 50%.  UA had big gains in Fleece (where they appeared to be much more promotional than last year) and in Active Tops.  Under Armour Apparel share leapt more than 400 basis points to 16.9%, putting them solidly as the #3 brand for December.
  • Nike took over #1 share in Sport Apparel for December with a 30% gain in sales.  Nike’s share hit 20.4%
  • The North Face fell to #2 on a low teens gain, with 19% share.
  • Columbia had a mid-single digit increase.  Jordan brand and Adidas both had declines in Sport Apparel for December
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