John Kim The rise of adidas over the last few years has led to a stiff contest between the German brand and U.S.-based Nike, with each giant trading blows in both the innovative and lifestyle battlefield. Over the last year, a lot of the momentum shifted back to Nike thanks to the popularity behind its collaboration with Virgil Abloh and his fashion label Off White, but what occurs in the realm of the fashion forward is hardly an indication of what goes down on a larger scale. It’s really about brand awareness and value, which is how adidas has managed to steer itself from the ground level into the best sneaker brand in the world just two years ago. In the first quarter of 2018, adidas again outperformed its competitor, but only grew in the mid-teens – a steep decline from the growth it saw over the last three years. Nike is still growing, but in the low singles.
The ten best-selling shoes, according to Matt Powell, in Q1 2018 were all by Nike/Jordan, although many of the models in this list (as usual) are lower-priced budget options that are found at department store chains. In order, they are the Nike Tanjun, Air Jordan 11 Low, Air Jordan 1 High OG, Nike Air Max 270, Nike Air Huarache, Converse All Star Low, Nike Revolution 4, Air Jordan 9, Nike Air Force 1 Low, and Nike Flex Contact.
Top-selling shoes don’t necessarily indicate that the brand is equally flourishing; Jordan Brand has three names on this Top 10 list, but the brand itself posted declines in sales because their lateral depth isn’t as strong as Nike and adidas. Other surprises in this Top 10 is the Air Max 270; it usually takes a few seasons for new footwear to catch on to the mainstream, but this one caught on quick. Kudos to Nike’s marketing team for getting it in front of as many eyeballs it could.
One bit of info that shouldn’t be overlooked is that adidas is nowhere to be found on this list. The Superstar and Tubular models were among the ten best-selling sneakers of 2017, proving that the brand value in the eyes of the mainstream was still very high. But the trend of wearing tre-foil tracksuits and simple iconic pieces has cooled off and on the more concentrated “sneakerhead” front, Nike and Jordan have simply been dominant. Just as the core sneakerhead demographic spelled the rise of adidas long before the numbers came into play, the reverse fate could possibly materialize – unless adidas unveils something major before 2018 comes to a close.
Several other factors may come into play when determining the future of adidas. While the brand has indeed been around for decades, its rise hinged on trends rather than an air of timelessness. Furthermore, its chief hype-builder Kanye West is beginning to drop Yeezys in mass quantities so he can live up to his claim of making enough pairs for everyone, but with the intersection of availability and desire being a sensitive one, it’s hard to tell just how sustainable its success can be. The demand for Yeezy Boost 350 v2 and his other models is still there, despite the declining re-sale value of its most recent drops. Other key developments to look out for in 2018 is the “return” of the Ultra Boost and, of course, Drake’s collaboration with adidas allegedly called Adidon.
