Sports shoes rose faster than apparel in 2015, globally and in Europe

Fuelled by the growing popularity of sneakers used as casual footwear, the major sports brands performed much better in the footwear segment than in the bigger and more fragmented sports apparel market in 2015, according to an annual survey conducted by Sporting Goods Intelligence. The same happened in the previous three years, with footwear growing at more than double the rate as clothing.

The rising strength of the sneaker market, especially among women who were previously wearing Uggs and high-heeled shoe brands on the street, has been confirmed by the regular consumer surveys conducted by NPD in the five major European countries, as shown in the table on page 2. Here, when asked about their purchases, consumers make no distinction between items used for sports or leisure.

The growing imbrication between the sports and casual segments of the footwear market, which led us to launch Shoe Intelligence 18 years ago, has now prompted a powerful industry association, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), to request a revision of the U.S. customs nomenclature, which continues to define Keds sneakers or the vulcanized shoes of Converse as athletic shoes, with bizarre consequences for the assessment of import duties.

SGI's exclusive surveys, which cover the brands' sales to the trade and through their own stores, show that the major sports brands raised their global footwear sales by 6.3 percent last year in terms of dollars, reaching a level of $54.5 billion. The growth rate was much lower than the 11.1 percent increase recorded in 2014, but it would have been much higher without the appreciation of the dollar against other currencies.

In fact, the strong dollar limited to 3.3 percent the increase in the athletic footwear market outside the U.S. With the euro losing 19 percent of its value against the dollar, the market declined by an estimated 3.5 percent to $14.0 billion in Europe in dollars, but the picture was different in terms of consumption in local currencies, as shown by the NPD figures.

In terms of euros, sales of sports shoes grew by 8.3 percent to €11.2 billion at retail in the five major European countries last year, according to NPD, with increases of 10.1 percent in France, 9.4 percent in Italy, 8.0 percent in Germany and 5.3 percent in the U.K.  Average selling prices went up in every market.

The turnover figures of the major sports brands indicate that the athletic shoe market jumped by 11.1 percent to $21.6 billion in the U.S.  It rose by 10.7 percent to $12.2 billion in the Asia-Pacific region and by 6.2 percent to $6.6 billion in emerging markets.

Comparatively, the major sports brands grew more slowly in the apparel sector last year. Their sales in this category were essentially flat in dollars at $75.6 billion according to our own estimates, with those in the U.S. rising by 5 percent to $36.6 billion and those in the rest of the world contracting by 6 percent o $39.0 billion. In 2014, the global apparel market had risen by 4.3 percent in dollars.

The weather was not cooperative in the most important markets last year. With the appreciation of the dollar, sales in Europe fell by 8 percent to $18.5 billion, partly due also to the absence of a major tournament like the 2014 World Cup of football. Sales were off by one percent to $14.6 billion in Asia-Pacific and by 2 percent to $5.9 billion in Latin America and other emerging markets. 

NPD's European consumer panel shows that sales of “sports & leisure apparel” increased by only 3.2 percent to €14.7 billion last year in the five major European markets. As with sports shoes, the highest growth rates were recorded in Italy and France – up by 6.2 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively. The U.K. came next with a rise of 3.7 percent, followed by Spain at 2.5 percent and Germany with a gain of only 0.2 percent. Average selling prices were basically flat or down in each country.

Detailed for each major group or brand, the SGI figures published on pages 3 and 5 of this issue refer to their invoiced sales, which are mostly wholesale revenues. They are based on public data reported by the companies in the industry. In other cases, we have obtained some input from the management, or else from experts in the sector. All the figures are converted to U.S. dollars based on the average exchange rate compiled by the OECD for each year.

Having overtaken Adidas some time ago, the Nike group remained the leader in the sports apparel market last year with a global share of 12.0 percent. It continued to dominate the U.S. market with a slightly improved share of 12.8 percent compared with only 3.2 percent for the whole Adidas Group, including a 0.6 percent share for Reebok. With The North Face, Timberland and other brands, VF Corp. came next with a stable share of 8.4 percent, followed by Under Armour with an improved share of 7.4 percent.

Under Armour, Columbia Sportswear, Anta, Patagonia and Li Ning enjoyed above-average growth in the global sports apparel market last year. Pulled down by the appreciation of the dollar against the euro and the yen, the Adidas Group, Puma, Descente, Goldwin and Mizuno suffered declines. The weakening surfwear market affected Quiksilver and Billabong.

Strong gains by Under Armour and Skechers contributed to the growth of the global athletic footwear market in 2015. New Balance also had a strong year, but just managed to stay ahead of Skechers in fourth place on our chart. Chinese brands staged a remarkable recovery. The two Brazilian players, Alpargatas and Olympikus, recorded lower sales because of a tough local market and the steep depreciation of the Brazilian real.

The strength of the dollar played in Nike's favor, helping the group to further raise its share of the global athletic footwear market to 38.1 percent, and while its market share declined to 45.7 percent in the U.S., it improved to 33.1 percent in the rest of the world.

The strong dollar had the opposite effect on the Adidas Group. Its market share declined to 17.3 percent globally, to 9.4 percent in the U.S. and to 22.5 percent elsewhere around the world. It came in third place in the U.S., where it was overtaken by VF.

Together, Nike and Adidas commanded 55.6 percent of the athletic footwear market across the world in 2015, down marginally from 55.7 percent in 2014.