On a seemingly unstoppable tear, Adidas has overtaken Under Armour for the No. 2 spot for athletic brands in the United States. NPD’s Matt Powell provided the news in a Tweet yesterday, writing, “From NPD Retail Tracking service, Adidas has once again attained #2 spot in US sport footwear & apparel, passing UA. and behind Nike/Jordan.”
NPD’s data is based on tracking sales at cash registers with retailers it has relationships with. It should be noted that NPD doesn’t track direct sales made by the brands themselves or at a number of prominent retailers.
Adidas dethrones Under Armour as No. 2 sports brand in US https://t.co/3yyPwNVROx via @retaildive
— Matt Powell (@NPDMattPowell) October 26, 2016
The news has to be especially satisfying for Adidas because it was about a year and a half ago that Under Armour’s CEO Kevin Plank described Adidas as his brand’s dumbest competitor. In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Plank stated, “We’re not going to compete with our dumbest competitor. I don’t like them. I don’t like the other guys either, but that’s my job.”
The NPD news was released not long after Under Armour reported disappointing 3Q earnings numbers and was downgraded by multiple Wall street firms with the stock dipping 13% after the bad news.
The extra dose of vindication comes from the source of the material, NPD’s Powell, who famously dismissed Kanye West when he signed on with Adidas three years ago. Based in Portland, Maine and admittedly not knowledgeable on sneaker culture, Powell predicted he would have little positive impact on the brand, adding that West would cost more than he would ever make for Adidas.
The company has since repeatedly mentioned West as a driver behind their positive growth story. What has been lost on Powell and others critics on the partnership, is the overall halo West has provided the brand and his function as much as a marketing tool as a maker of sneakers.
