23 Jan December 2016 Athletic Footwear Overview
Analysis from The NPD Group’s Matt Powell follows:
2016 Athletic Footwear Quarterly Overview
Sales by quarter: Q1 (+5%), Q2 (+6%), Q3 (+2%), and Q4 (-1%). The shift in the second half is due almost entirely to the void that was created by The Sports Authority and Sport Chalet bankruptcies. The greatest impact came in Q4, when both retailers were fighting for their survival. We will likely still see some continued impact in Q1 2017, but after that the drag should be over and trend should return to normal.
December 2016 Athletic Footwear Overview
December was another disappointing month for athletic footwear, with continued weakness in the athletic specialty/sporting goods channel. Sales in that channel were down in the low single-digits, dragging the overall market down 1 percent. The soft sales in the athletic specialty/sporting goods channel was primarily caused by the absence of The Sports Authority. Nowhere was this void felt more than in running footwear, which declined 8 percent.
Looking at brands, both Nike Inc. and Under Armour experienced footwear sales declines in December compared to December 2015. Adidas sales more than doubled for the month and its share more than doubled as well, to 9 percent.
December 2016 by Wearer Segment
Men’s athletic footwear sales experienced a 1 percent decline in December compared to this month in 2015, while the women’s market grew by 2 percent and children’s declined by 4 percent.
December 2016 by Category
Classics, the largest category based on dollar sales for December, grew sales by 11 percent for the month. Playing off this trend, casual athletic has also been strong, and sales in this category grew 28 percent for the month.
On the other hand, cross training and other performance footwear continues to be challenged, with sales down 19 percent and 11 percent, respectively, for December.
Cold/all weather boots improved from the previous weak trend to grow by 4 percent in December.
For more information or to speak with Matt Powell, please contact Marissa Guyduy, 516-625-2203 or marissa.guyduy@npd.com.
The NPD Group’s U.S. Athletic Footwear Industry Sales
Reporting Period December 2016 versus December 2015
Dollar Sales Dec’15 Dec’16 CHG
Total U.S. Athletic Footwear Sales $2.42B $2.39B -1%
Men $1.14B $1.13B -1%
Women $722.4M $738.0M 2%
Children $555.1M $530.4M -4%
Brand Performance Dollar Share Dollar % Change
December 2016 Top 5 Casual Athletic Brands
Adidas 29% 212%
Converse 14% 9%
Skechers 13% 9%
Puma 6% 226%
Vans 3% 186%
Copyright 2016. The NPD Group, Inc.