Matt Powell’s been writing about sneakers for years.
He works for NPD Group, a company that analyzes trends in retail and sales (Powell handles athletic footwear), and breaks down why things happen the way they do. He just released his report on the first quarter of 2017 in footwear … and it’s interesting to say the least.
Nike had 4 of the 5 best-selling shoe models in the first quarter (the Jordan IV, the Jordan VI, the Jordan XII and the Huarache) but still saw a sales loss in the high single-digits, while adidas only had one model in the top 5 (the classic Superstar), but adidas’s sales grew close to an incredible 85%. You probably weren’t wondering about Under Armor, but in the event you were, their footwear sales declined in the double digits.
What does this show? Well, it shows that although Nike and Jordan have some very popular models that they move at a high volume, adidas still has a corner on the market, and are riding their wave for all it’s worth. They’re still gaining and gaining, and although their gross volume might not be close to Nike’s, they’re still outperforming them as a whole.
Q2 should be interesting. Can adidas continue their sales gains and dominance, or will Nike’s new high-quality releases and Air Max turn the tide? We can’t say for sure, but we’ll be interested to see what Powell has to say after Q2 is over.
What do you think of Powell’s article and Nike/adidas’s performance in Q1? Do you see any specific trends occurring in Q2 that you think might change the game? Hit us up and let us know in the comments or on Twitter, check our Facebook page for daily updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire sneaker pictures you can handle.
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