Despite the collapse of the toning footwear category, global sales of branded athletic footwear jumped by 13.2 percent in terms of dollars to $41,655 million in 2011, driven by significant gains in emerging markets but also aided by robust growth in more developed markets. The growth rate was almost the same as in 2010, when the market enjoyed a vigorous rebound.
All figures published in our exclusive chart in the next page are stated in U.S. dollars, so that companies operating in other currencies see their international sales inflated by the changes in exchange rates during the year – as the U.S. dollar was weaker in 2011 than in the previous year. The average value of the U.S. dollar declined by about 4.9 percent against the euro in 2011 compared with the average in the previous year, down to less than €0.72. Its average value dropped by 9.2 percent against the yen and by 4.5 percent against the yuan.
SGI’s annual report on the global sports shoe market is mostly based on its wholesale value, but the numbers include a share of sales of roughly 15 percent made by the leading brands in their own stores. The rankings are organized by company, although some of them own several brands. The majority of these figures are issued from public reports, but for private companies our chart relies on input from managers as well as estimates from market analysts. All the numbers refer to the fiscal year until the end of December 2011 except the Nike figures, which cover the four quarters until the end of November.
Both the European and U.S. markets for athletic footwear enjoyed robust growth in 2011. The European market was up by 12.5 percent in dollars to $10,883 million and the U.S. market rose by 6.9 percent to $15,129 million. Taking into account last year’s devaluation of the dollar, the European score at the wholesale level can be compared with NPD’s estimate of a 4.0 percent increase in retail sales in the five major markets, which we published in the last issue of SGI Europe.
The most impressive growth rates came from the Asia-Pacific region, where branded athletic footwear sales climbed by 19.5 percent to $9,539 million for the year. This growth was driven by international brands, but most of the Chinese sports brands continued to expand their sales last year as well. Other emerging markets showed even more remarkable growth, albeit from a small basis, with sales up by 22.7 percent to $6,104 million.
This fast-rising demand in emerging markets has altered the spread of sales by region in the last years. About 15 years ago the U.S. market still made up more than 40 percent of the global market, but that share contracted to 36 percent last year. Europe’s share remained roughly stable at 26 percent, but it would also have dropped without the growing contribution from some buoyant markets in Eastern Europe. The share of the Asia-Pacific region reached 23 percent last year, edging closer to Europe, while Emerging Markets accounted for nearly 15 percent of global footwear sales.
Nike easily retains the lead in the global athletic footwear market, but it performed better in the U.S. than elsewhere. Remarkably, the Nike group managed to lift its U.S. market share by 2.9 percentage points to 44.2 percent; on other hand its market share shrank in Europe, Asia and other emerging markets. Meanwhile, the Adidas Group grabbed an extra 2.5 percentage points in global market share to 21.0 percent last year, with a timid increase in the U.S. but more marked rises in the three other regions. Puma just kept pace with the market, maintaining its global market share at 5.1 percent.
Crocs joined a group of companies with sales of more than $1 billion. They all raised their turnover last year, except for Skechers. That brand enjoyed very strong growth in 2010 as it gained from the toning trend, but was all the more affected by the category’s demise.
After its rapid run in the last two years, the global athletic footwear market apparently hasn’t run out of breath just yet. European sales have been supported by a strong focus on sports this year, with the European football championships and the London Olympics. So far the European market as a whole appears set to overcome pressing worries about the economies of southern Europe, but analysts have become more concerned about the second half of 2012. In the U.S., sales have been robust so far this year, particularly in the running and basketball categories. Even in Asia-Pacific, where the apparel market has been under pressure from vertical fashion retailers, athletic footwear continues to perform well for the big brands.
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