Sole Source: Running & Training in December 2009

words_Nick DePaula

Sole Collector is glad to introduce its latest monthly feature to the site: Sole Source. With the help of Matt Powell, an industry Analyst from SportsONESource, we’ll be bringing you exclusive industry details and stats that will help to shed some light on the trends currently found in the marketplace. As more performance centric brands like Asics, Mizuno and Brooks continue to enjoy flat or slightly positive sales in a down economy, Nike continues to see increases in share stemming from the sales of models that have been widely denounced from the ever-discerning “serious runners.” When noticing the term “Fashion” running, this generally refers to models incorporating a leather base or platform technology not accepted as performance, like Shox, for example.

Enjoy the following insights from Matt Powell himself, as he takes a look at both the Running & Training landscapes:

RUNNING CATEGORY

Overall running grew in the high singles, with Performance running (40% of all running sales) improving more than 25% and Fashion running declining in the mid singles.

Nike Running grew in the low singles, on strong Performance and weak Fashion as the Shox franchise continues to struggle.  Nike had a 62% share; down 300 basis points.

New Balance Running had a dramatic turnaround with a mid teens improvement after several months of decline. New Balance Running share improved about 80 basis points to 8.5%. New Balance was particularly strong in Fashion Running.

Top New Balance performers:

New Balance 571:

New Balance 475:

Regarding additional brands, Asics Running slowed to a high single digit increase, its second weakest performance of the year.  Adidas Running declined in the low teens.  Saucony Running grew in the low teens while Brooks and Mizuno were basically flat.  Under Armour running gained about 2% share in a very promotional environment. Puma has a 2.9% share in overall running, all driven by Fashion styles.

Top Selling (in dollar volume) Running shoes in December in descending order:

White/ Obsidian/ Black Air Max 95

Black Shox NZ

White Shox Classic II

Black Air Max Wright

Black Shox Classic II

Grey/ Silver/ Red Air Max 2009

TRAINING CATEGORY:

Training footwear sales improved to a flat performance in December, as retailers are leaning more heavily on replenishment programs on dumb white footcovering.  New Balance, in particular. leveraged their replenishment model, posting a 20% increase in training footwear for December. Under Armour Training declined -20% again. Under Armour Training sales have been negative since 1st quarter and are only up in the low teens for the year.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for details on the overall market, including the booming Women’s Toning category, as well as Skate.

Tags: asics, matt powell, New Balance, nike, running, sole source, sportsONEsource, training

2 Responses to “Sole Source: Running & Training in December 2009”

1. Nick Engvall says:

   February 3, 2010 at 8:13 pm

   Cool feature, this is definitely interesting stuff to me.

   Reply
2. nickair75 says:

   February 3, 2010 at 8:35 pm

   Very surprised at some of those shoes mentioned above and a shoe like the Pegasus that is no in its 26th not even mentioned. I sell running shoes for a living and as a company we sell nearly 9000 pairs of Asics in a week!!!!! Nike with models like the previously mentioned Pegasus along with the Structure Triax and Equalon producing good numbers!!

   Reply