Piper Sandler’s Spring Survey Finds A Shift In Brands Winning With Teens

06 Apr Piper Sandler’s Spring Survey Finds A Shift In Brands Winning With Teens

Converse, Crocs, Hoka, New Balance, and On were among the brands in the active lifestyle space increasing their appeal with teens in Piper Sandler’s 45th semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey.*

Nike dominated mindshare in both footwear and apparel but lost the appeal in performance offerings while Adidas, Under Armour and Vans all lost ground.

The survey found athletic footwear brands losing some share. Of the teens surveyed, 84 percent of females prefer an athletic brand of footwear, down 100 basis points year-over-year and down 400 basis points sequentially. Among male teens, 90 percent prefer an athletic brand of footwear, powered by Nike’s share gains and powered by Nike’s appeal.

However, athletic apparel was seen trending upward. Among upper-income teens, 45 percent preferred apparel brands that are “athletic,” up 100 basis points year-over-year and versus Fall 2020, with Nike taking a 30 percent share followed by Lululemon with a 9 percent share.

Findings among brands in the active lifestyle space include:

• Adidas was the third favorite footwear brand among all teens behind Nike and Converse with a mindshare of 6 percent, losing 170 basis points in mindshare year over year. Among males, Adidas ranked as the second favorite footwear brand with a 9 percent mindshare, down from 12 percent in Spring 2022. Among female teens, Adidas ranked fourth with 3 percent mindshare, the same as Spring 2022. In apparel, Adidas moved from No. 7 brand in Fall 2022 to No. 6 in Spring 2023 but fell 100 basis points year over year. Among males, Adidas ranked second in apparel with a 5 percent mindshare against a 6 percent in Spring 2022. Among females, Adidas didn’t make the top-ten list of favorite apparel brands.
• Brooks finished fifth among upper-income male teens in favorite athletic footwear with a 1 percent mindshare, behind Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Asics. Among upper-income female teens, Brooks ranked No. 6.
• Converse continued to gain mindshare to retain the No. 2 favorite footwear spot. Its 10 percent mindshare improved 165 basis points year over year. Among all female teens, Converse ranked second with an 18 percent share, up from a 14 percent in Spring 2022. Among all male teens surveyed, Converse ranked fifth with a 2 percent share, down from 4 with a 2 percent share in fall 2022. Among upper-income teens, Converse ranked second among females with a 20 percent mindshare and tied for fifth with Crocs among males with a 1 percent share.
• Crocs took the No. 6 favorite footwear brand among all teens (No. 6 among males and No. 7 among females), down from No. 5 in Fall 2022 but equivalent to Spring 2022. Crocs gained 25 basis points of teen mindshare year-over-year. Notably, Crocs gained the most share among males with a gain of 75 basis points of mindshare year-over-year with upper-income males and an improvement of 50 basis points of mindshare year-over-year with all males. Crocs were the No. 5 fashion trend among upper-income males, up from No. 13 last Spring.
• Hey Dude, owned by Crocs, Inc., took the No. 8 favorite footwear brand among teens (No. 7 among males and No. 9 among females), down from No. 7 in Fall 2022 but up from No. 9 in Spring 2022. Importantly, Hey Dude gained 25 basis points of teen mindshare year-over-year. Piper Sandler believes Hey Dude is taking share from Vans, which decreased in mindshare over the year and sequentially.
• Hoka, owned by Deckers Outdoor, was the No. 4 favorite athletic footwear brand among both upper-income and all teens as the running brand continues to gain share in athletic footwear. Share is notably higher among females where Hoka was the No. 3 favorite athletic footwear brand. Hoka increased mindshare within athletic footwear by about 115 basis points among upper-income teens and by about 170 basis points among all teens year-over-year. Additionally, Hoka was the No. 19 favorite overall footwear brand up from No. 25 last Spring.
• Lululemon maintained the No. 2 favorite athletic apparel brand among both upper-income and all teens, maintaining the No. 4 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income males and the No. 1 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income females from Fall 2022. Leggings/Lululemon continue to be the No. 1 fashion trend among upper-income females. Importantly, lululemon was the No. 3 favorite overall apparel brand among teens, increasing among males to the No. 5 apparel brand (up from No. 9 last year). LULU gained about 130 basis points of share year-over-year among all teens in apparel, including about 220 basis points of mindshare gains among female teens. Piper Sandler believes this points to a continued brand affinity for Lululemon, especially among the newly acquired younger cohort, which should support strong full-price selling.
• New Balance moved back to the No. 5 spot in favorite footwear rankings, gaining 100 basis points of share year-over-year. Among all male teens, New Balance moved ahead of Converse to become the fourth favorite footwear behind Nike, Adidas and Vans. Its mindshare among males improved to 3 percent from 2 percent a year ago. Among all female teens, New Balance improved to sixth from eight with mindshare of 2 percent. Among upper-income male teens, New Balance moved ahead of Vans to third and ranked fifth among upper-income females with improved mindshare.
• Nike remained the No. 1 favorite footwear and apparel brand among teens. While Nike gained about 400 basis points of footwear mindshare with male teens, Nike actually lost about 240 basis points of share with female teens in footwear. Additionally, Nike lost about 115 basis points of athletic footwear share among upper-income teens as brands such as On Running and Hoka gained share. While Nike gained about 260 basis points of mindshare in apparel among all teens, Nike lost share within athletic apparel with mindshare declining about 220 basis points year-over-year among both upper-income teens and all teens. Piper Sandler believes this points to Nike’s continued success in streetwear and men’s, especially with the Jordan Brand, while Nike loses its share in performance.
• On, the Swiss running brand, maintained the No. 5 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper-income teens (No. 5 among upper-income females and No. 9 among upper-income males). This is up from No. 8 in Spring 2022. On also maintained the No. 7 favorite athletic footwear brand among all teens, up from No. 9 in Spring 2022. Additionally, On was teens’ No. 12 overall favorite footwear brand, up from No. 19 in Spring 2022. Interestingly, On was the No. 10 favorite footwear brand for both upper-income and all-female teens, ahead of Hoka. Piper Sandler believes On has taken share from among teens are Adidas, Brooks, and Asics.
• Puma ranked as the 9th favorite footwear brand among all teens, up from 10th in the Fall 2022 survey. Among upper-income male teens, Puma tied for 9th favorite footwear brand with Asics and Reebok.
• Skechers lost about 15 basis points of share year-over-year among teens in footwear, moving to the No. 16 favorite footwear brand from No. 12 last Spring. Interestingly, Skechers broke into the top 10 upper-income teen athletic footwear ranking, taking the No. 9 spot compared to No. 16 in the Spring. Skechers was actually the No. 5 athletic footwear brand among upper-income male teens, outpacing Under Armour. Skechers also rose to the No. 11 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper-income females compared to No. 16 last Spring. Piper Sandler said, “We think this signals an interesting shift in viewing Skechers as a more technical footwear brand, likely supported by launches such as Speed Beast and Speed Freek.”
• Ugg, owned by Deckers Outdoor, took an impressive jump to the No. 7 overall favorite footwear brand (No. 5 among female teens) compared to No. 19 last Spring. Notably, Uggs were the No. 2 top fashion trend among upper-income females, up from No. 14 in Spring 2022. Piper Sandler said in the study, “Ugg is trending and is taking share in North America.”
• Under Armour moved out of the top 10 in upper-income athletic footwear falling to the No. 11 spot from No. 6 last year, losing about (35) basis points of share year-over-year. Under Armour also lost about (20) basis points of athletic footwear share year-over-year with all teens. Under Armour lost about (190) basis points of share among upper-income teens in athletic apparel, falling to the No. 5 spot below Gym Shark, and the brand lost about (75) basis points year-over-year among all teens in athletic apparel. Under Armour also continued to be the No. 1 brand no longer worn by upper-income males. Piper Sandler believes Under Armour “continues to lose brand relevance with the company’s core consumer.”
• Vans again ranked as the fourth favorite footwear brand among all teens although its mindshare eroded to 5 percent in the Spring 2023 survey, down from 8 percent in Spring 2022. In Fall 2021, Vans ranked as the second favorite footwear brand with 11 percent mindshare. Among males (all teens), Vans ranked third with its mindshare sliding to 5 percent from 7 percent in Spring 2022. Among females (all teens), Vans was also the third favorite footwear brand although its mindshare declined to 5 percent from 8 percent in Spring 2022. Among upper-income teens, Vans ranked fourth with males and sixth with females.

Top 10 charts related to the active apparel space include: 

• Favorite Footwear Brands (All Teens): 1) Nike, 61 percent; 2) Converse, 10 percent; 3)  Adidas, 6 percent; 4) Vans, 5 percent; 5) New Balance, 2 percent; 6) Crocs, 2 percent; 7) Ugg, 1 percent;  8) Hey Dude, 1 percent;  9) Dr. Martens, 1 percent; 10)  Foot Locker, 1 percent.
• Favorite Footwear Brands (Males, All Teens): 1) Nike, 67 percent; 2) Adidas, 9 percent; 3) Vans, 5 percent; 4) New Balance, 3 percent; 5) Converse, 2 percent; 6) Crocs, 1 percent; 7) Hey Dude, 1 percent; 8) Foot Locker, 1 percent; 9) Puma, 1 percent; 10) Under Armour, 1 percent.
• Favorite Footwear Brands (Females, All Teens): 1) Nike, 55 percent; 2) Converse, 18 percent; 3) Vans, 5 percent; 4) Adidas, 3 percent; 5) Ugg, 3 percent; 6) New Balance, 2 percent; 7) Crocs, 2 percent; 8) Dr. Martens, 1 percent; 9) Hey Dude, 1 percent; 10) On Running, 1 percent; Reebok, 1 percent;
• Favorite Apparel Brands (All Teens): 1) Nike, 33 percent; 2) American Eagle, 7 percent; 3) Lululemon, 6 percent; 4) H&M, 4 percent; 5) Shein, 3 percent; 6) Adidas, 3 percent; 7) PacSun, 2 percent; 8) Hollister, 2 percent; 9) Brandy Melville, 2 percent; 10) Urban Outfitters, 1 percent.
• Favorite Apparel Brands (Male, All Teens): 1) Nike, 49 percent; 2) Adidas, 5 percent; 3) H&M, 3 percent; 4) American Eagle, 2 percent; 5) Lululemon, 2 percent; 6) Under Armour, 2 percent; 7) PacSun, 2 percent; 8) Champion, 1 percent; 9) Hollister, 1 percent; 10) Carhartt, 1 percent.
• Favorite Apparel Brands (Female, All Teens): 1) Nike, 16 percent; 2) American Eagle, 12 percent; 3) Lululemon, 11 percent; 4) Shein, 6 percent; 5) H&M, 5 percent; 6) Brandy Melville, 3 percent; 7) Hollister, 3 percent; 8) PacSun, 3 percent; 9) Urban Outfitters, 3 percent; 10) Target, 2 percent.
• Favorite Websites For Shopping (Upper-Income Teens): 1) Amazon, 57 percent; 2) Nike, 6 percent; 3) Shein, 6 percent; 4) Lululemon, 3 percent; 5) PacSun, 2 percent; 6) Etsy, 1 percent; 7) Goat, 1 percent; 8) American Eagle, 1 percent; Hollister, 1 percent; Aerie, 1 percent; Princess Polly, 1 percent; Depop, 1 percent.
• Top Fashion Trends Right Now (Upper-Income Female Teens): 1) Leggings/Lululemon, 42 percent; 2) Ugg, 6 percent; 3) Crop Tops, 6 percent; 4) Jeans, 5 percent; 5) Nike/Jordans, 4 percent; 6) Baggy/Saggy Pants, 3 percent; 7) Flared Pants, 2 percent; 8) Hoodies, 2 percent; 9) Comfort, Hair Trends, 2 percent; 10) Athletic Wear, 2 percent.
• Top Fashion Trends Right Now (Upper-Income Male Teens): 1) Nike/Jordan, 32 percent; 2) Hoodies, 12 percent; 3) Sweatshirts, 5 percent; 4) Flannel, 4 percent; 5) Crocs, 3 percent; 6) Comfort, 3 percent; 7) Hair Trends, 3 percent; 8) Cargo Pants/Shorts, 3 percent; 9) Hats, 2 percent; 10) Lululemon, 2 percent.