By Sara Germano
These days, looking like you run is more popular than actually
running.
Sales growth of running shoes shifted last year away from
high-performance technical shoes designed for athletes in favor of
cheaper models aimed at casual wear, a move that is altering the
economics of the largest athletic-footwear market.
There are a number of factors at work--including confusion over
health claims for unstructured technical running shoes. But the
broader cause is the so-called athleisure trend that is reshaping
the retail landscape as fitness blurs with fashion.
Sales of running shoes priced above $125--mostly
performance-focused models-- fell 18% for the year ended April 11,
while sales of running shoes under $125--including most
fashion-focused pairs--rose 8% over the same period, according to
industry tracker SportsOneSource.
The result is the market is becoming a numbers game, with
volumes of casual lines doing more to drive sales than higher
prices from performance shoes.
"For the first time that I can ever remember, and I've been in
the business for 14 years, unit sales are outpacing dollar sales
overall," said Neil Schwartz, vice president of business
development for SportsOneSource.
Running is the largest U.S. athletic footwear category by retail
sales and grew 3.5% to just over $6 billion in 2014, according to
data from SportsOneSource.
It is a broad category encompassing high-tech training shoes
aimed at marathoners that can approach $200 a pair, as well as
retro and casual sneakers worn mainly for fashion, which tend to
sell for under $100.
"Now, because this whole athleisure business is growing, casual
is growing and it's now being further segregated from the
performance side, " Mr. Schwartz said.
There have always been people who would wear running shoes for
purposes that didn't involve breaking a sweat. What's new is that
shoppers are turning to lower-priced models that are more sporty
looking than sport-specific in such numbers that it is prompting
manufacturers such as Adidas AG to rejigger their lineups and
sports retailers like Finish Line Inc. to make room for more
fashion fare.
"It's a penetration shift, slightly away from running toward
less technical, more lifestyle sneakers," said Lauren Blanda,
general manager of merchandising for City Sports, a chain of
athletic stores mostly in urban areas "We call it
'sport-style.'"
Kohl's Corp. is doing big business in lower-priced performance
shoes and casual athletic shoes from companies like Skechers USA
Inc. Glenn Lyon, chief executive of Finish Line, said his stores
are "absolutely, absolutely doing more casual than we have done in
the past."
Running is the largest category at family footwear retailer
Famous Footwear, president Rick Ausick said. He recently has
noticed that customers have been favoring casual running shoes over
performance models.
"In other words, we think the majority of our customers are
buying the shoe to spend their weekend in versus hitting the
pavement for a three-mile run," he said.
Technical running hasn't had a huge hit since the heyday of
minimalist running footwear. The trend surged at the turn of the
decade amid claims that barefoot-style running was healthier, but
sales collapsed last year as those claims came under scrutiny.
Since then, sales of more structured and padded technical running
shoes have grown, but not yet with the same fervor.
"The consumer is really confused right now about what they
should run in, and they're not sure that they trust their
retailer," said Matt Powell, an industry analyst for NPD Group.
Adidas has had some success with its line of Boost running
shoes, but at upward of $150 a pop, they were too expensive for the
mass market. Paul Bowyer, U.S. director of running for Adidas, said
the company expects to roll out two new lines of running shoes
within the next year, priced between $50 and $100.
Last month, Nike brand President Trevor Edwards said that
"running-inspired" shoes like the Roshe are selling well, but the
company is working on challenges in its core running category,
which "isn't performing as well as we would like."
Insiders say that is because we may have passed the peak of the
Nike Free. Having been on the market for roughly a decade, the Free
sneakers became a best seller for both Nike Inc. and the running
industry overall.
"In the athletic fashion spaces, they're just not wearing Nike
Frees anymore," said Ms. Blanda of City Sports. She added that the
newest model of the Free, released earlier this month, is selling
well, but the strength of the line as a whole "is not quite what it
was a year ago."
The slowness in technical running has prompted traditional
athletic retailers to retool their offerings. It has helped City
Sports stores, according to Ms. Blanda, since the typical lifespan
of a technical running shoe can last between one to two years,
while casual shoes will cycle in and out of stores in about 12
weeks. By ordering lifestyle shoes in more limited quantities, it
keeps their inventory fresh, she said.
Still, it's taken some getting used to. A few weeks ago, City
Sports had to retrain its employees on how to sell its newer
casual-looking goods.
"They were a little confused at what we were trying to achieve,"
Ms. Blanda said. "Like, 'OK maybe we're not just technical
sportswear.'"
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