The words of Kanye West's 2012 hit "New God Flow" resurfaced all over Twitter on Monday: "Hold up, I ain't trying to stunt man, but these Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman."
The words have become (at least sort of) prophetic. Industry analyst Matt Powell, of NPD group, tweeted Monday that Adidas has overtaken Jordan as the No. 2 top-selling brand in U.S. footwear, though he says Kanye's shoes have little, if anything, to do with it.
"This is an achievement I never thought I would see in my lifetime," Powell said on Twitter.
Powell reports that Adidas' footwear sales grew by more than half in August. It's market share grew by nearly half, too, to 13 percent. Powell said Adidas has focused on shoe chains like Foot Locker, where its sales more than doubled during the month. Its women's sales were also up double, leading to an overall 3 percent increase in women's sales, though Powell said Nike struggled in this category.
The announcement comes after a period of major growth for the German brand that keeps its North American headquarters in Portland.
It's also a time of notable struggles for industry leader Nike. Nike experienced slower than expected sales growth in Q2, and recently announced a restructuring plan that included laying off 2 percent of its global workforce, and at least 700 at its Beaverton headquarters. Last week, the cover of Barron'sencouraged investors to stay away from buying Nike.
And now, Powell said, this is the first time in at least 30 years that Nike has not held the top two slots for top selling brands.
In terms of the top selling shoes, however, Nike still leads the pack. The five top selling shoes in August, based on dollar amount, were the Nike Tanjun, Nike Air Huarache, Chuck Taylor Low (a Nike brand), Nike Revolution 3 and Adidas Tubular Shadow.
Overall, Powell said footwear sales were up slightly in August, typically one of the biggest months for sales.
Sales at "critical athletic specialty/sporting goods" stores were down again, but all other channels grew, including an "impressive increase" for shoe chains. Many have wondered whether basketball footwear sales, which have been down recently, would rebound, but Powell said sales for the category are down 20 percent (though Adidas basketball is up 40 percent).
The Portland Business Journal is a KGW News partner.
