Patrick Johnson 
NPD Group’s Matt Powell released an interesting analysis of what exactly happened financially with the sneaker industry in the first quarter of 2017. The industry analyst took a quick break from shooting down hypebeasts and lifestyle publications on Twitter to paint the picture that despite overall optimistic market results, industry giants like Nike are still facing challenges in some major categories that were once its strongest like basketball, running, and training. Even though Nike Inc. sales declined in the high single-digits for the first quarter of this year, they had some of the top sellers ranging from the Air Jordan 6, the Nike Air Huarache, the Air Jordan 13, and the Air Jordan 4. The lone shoe not in Nike’s arsenal in the top 5 was the adidas Superstar. So despite the perception that Jordan retros are often left on shelves, the fact that the Jumpman is producing a higher quantity is still driving sales. Even with Nike’s seeming dominance in the best-selling category, adidas sales grew close to an incredible 85% thanks to improvements in both Running and Originals. Under Armour continues to falter though, as footwear sales declined in the double-digits.
Some other notable facts from Powell’s article include:
– The casual athletic category saw sales up 36% from the previous year
– Classics saw an 11% increase but the growth was slower than previously
– Running categories were down 5% but Powell points to weather preventing growth
Check out Matt Powell’s analysis titled Sneakernomics: Why Q1 Did Not Bode Well for U.S. Athletic Foorwear Sales here.
