Optimism for US athletic shoe market
According
to based market research company The NPD Group, the US athletic
footwear market is starting to show signs of improvement.
Overall,
the rate of decline in athletic shoe sales was slower in 2009 (1.4%)
than in 2008 (3.2%). Women’s sales rose 0.6%, while the men’s market
posted a 3% decline.
“In other areas of the fashion industry,
women make up the lion’s share of the market, but not here,” observed
Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at The NPD Group. “Much of the
success in women’s can be attributed to toning and shaping footwear. In
the men’s market that is not so. The challenge is for brands to get men
to pick up on this trend. Not the toning and shaping trend necessarily
but they may just jump on the comfort and wellness bandwagon.”
Fourth
quarter results in the athletic footwear market, showed growth. Casual
athletic shoe sales rose 2.3%, hiking shoe sales grew 9.2% and walking
footwear sales were up 57%, primarily driven by sales of toning and
shaping footwear.
The two stalwarts of the athletic footwear
market, basketball and running, continue to post declines. Sales of
active apparel have also dropped 4%.
“I see this as an additional indicator that the market needs to convince consumers that there are new, exciting, and innovative products awaiting their purchases,” said Mr Cohen. “Beyond the need to just get better, the industry needs to understand that if you give consumers something they can relate to, something that they need as well as make them understand that the product is indeed new and unique consumers will buy, even in challenging times.”
