By Sara Germano 

Skechers USA Inc., the casual footwear brand that was tripped up by its line of supposedly butt-firming shoes with curved soles, is now outpacing traditional athletic shoe companies at their own race.

For the quarter ended in March, Skechers accounted for 5% of the sports footwear market, according to retail tracker NPD Group, squeaking past Adidas AG's 4.6% as well as the 4% shares notched by Asics and New Balance.

No one is anywhere near Nike Inc. and its proprietary Jordan brand, which together account for 62% of athletic shoes sold in the U.S. But Skechers's rise highlights Americans' growing preference for cheaper shoes they may actually never use for running and the threat that trend poses to some established athletic brands.

Most of Skechers's growth has come from its walking and casual footwear segments, according to NPD Group analyst Matt Powell. "Walking has been relatively dormant for a number of years, and they've kind of reignited it," he said.

The Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based company is the latest beneficiary of the so-called athleisure trend sweeping retail, with shoppers increasingly snapping up sport-styled clothes and shoes regardless of whether they plan to work out in them. By offering stylish, casual shoes at a fraction of the price of more traditional athletic brands, Skechers has gained a foothold with family footwear and department store consumers.

David Weinberg, the company's chief operating officer, said retailers' demand for Skechers has been strong, with the company adding new accounts and expanding shelf space at existing customers.

Retail unit sales of Skechers shoes rose 19% during the first quarter, compared with 10% for Nike, according to SportsOneSource. "They're not a poseur, they're a player," said Neil Schwartz, vice president of business development for the market research firm.

After dipping earlier this decade, Skechers's sales have resumed their growth, climbing 29% last year to $2.4 billion. Its shares are trading around a record, up 1.3% Monday afternoon at $102.05.

Running is the largest U.S. athletic footwear category by retail sales, according to SportsOneSource. For the first time, sales of fashion-focused casual shoes are driving sales instead of the more sophisticated running shoes that long propelled the category, according to the firm.

Traditional athletic footwear companies are shuffling their assortments to cater to the casual crowd. Nike already has a best seller in its Roshe sneaker, which isn't designed for running. Technical brand Brooks Running, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, last year introduced a line of retro-styled shoes from the 1970s.

Skechers, meanwhile, has been boosting its credibility as an athletic brand. The company launched a performance line for serious athletes in 2011. And when Meb Keflezighi last year became the first American to win the Boston Marathon since 1985, he did it in Skechers shoes.

Skechers made headlines in 2012 when it paid $40 million to the Federal Trade Commission to settle false-advertising claims about their Shape Ups shoes, which were touted to be butt-toning. The company disputed any fault at the time.

The growth of Skechers's footwear business marks another challenge for Germany-based Adidas. The world's second-largest sportswear brand by revenue has slipped in various U.S. rankings. Last year, Adidas fell behind Under Armour Inc. in combined U.S. footwear and apparel retail sales, according to data from Sterne Agee CRT and SportScanInfo.

Over the past year, the company has shuffled its American management and redoubled its efforts to improve its business here. Adidas reported a 7% increase in North American sales for the quarter ended March 31.

Mr. Powell of NPD Group said that it appears Adidas has already bottomed out in the U.S., and it's seeing some success with its ZX Flux and Boost lines of footwear.

"My expectations are that the Adidas trends improve going into the year, " he said. "Their retail numbers have improved. They're still not good, but they're better than they were."

Write to Sara Germano at sara.germano@wsj.com

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