Nike is still the hottest brand among younger shoppers, but other up-and-coming competitors are climbing the ranks.
That’s according to the 9,193 U.S. teens who responded to Piper Sandler’s 46th semi-annual survey this spring. According to the results, Nike earned the top spots for footwear and apparel in the survey that ranked teen’s favorite brands and websites. Nike also earned the top spots for footwear and apparel preferences in Piper Sandler’s spring survey from April and the survey from the prior fall.
In apparel, Nike garnered 35 percent of the vote, followed by Lululemon at six percent and American Eagle at four percent. These were followed by Shein and PacSun, both at three percent. Nike’s share of the vote was larger in footwear at 61 percent. Converse came next with 9 percent of the vote, followed by Adidas at seven percent. New Balance surpassed Vans as the No.4 top shoe brand, though both came in at around three percent.
Crocs and the Crocs-owned Hey Dude brands also saw momentum, nabbing the sixth and seventh top spots in footwear, respectively. Year-over-year, Crocs gained about 30 basis points of mindshare and Hey Dude gained 50 basis points.
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On and Hoka, two fast-growing running shoe brands, earned the eighth and thirteenth slots among footwear brands for teens, respectively. Both brands jumped from their placement in the list from spring, which saw On and Hoka in the 12th and 19th spots, respectively. Among upper income teens, On and Hoka ranked fifth and third this year, respectively.
In recent quarters, Nike has outlined a goal to grow its business in the increasingly competitive running category after the footwear giant has lost share to smaller, running-focused brands like Hoka, Brooks and On, all three of which have found success with their niche perfomance offerings.
“We need to drive more meaningful consumer connections among everyday runners and scale these innovations more effectively across the marketplace,” Nike CEO John Donahoe said in a recent call with investors.
In Q2, On Holding was one the few shoe brands to post positive results in North America as the brand wins over runners and non-athletes alike with its performance-focused running shoes. Hoka was also a standout in the quarter and drove Deckers’ growth in its Q1, with net sales for the brand up 27.4 percent to $420.5 million.
