NPD analyst Matt Powell reported yesterday on Twitter Adidas sales year to date in the United States for the first time had surpassed Nike‘s Jordan brand. From January through August of 2017, Adidas had 11.3 percent of the U.S. market share by dollars, up 6.6 percent from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Jordan brand grew only a touch, from 9.4 percent to 9.5 percent year-to-date.
The top-selling shoes for the month were listed as follows: Nike Tanjun, Nike Huarache, Converse Chuck Taylor Low, Nike Revolution, Adidas Tubular Shadow, Jordan XIII, Adidas Superstar, Nike Flex Contact and Nike Kyrie 3.
In response to the news, Powell wrote, “Adidas has overtaken Jordan as the #2 brand in U.S. sport footwear. This is an achievement I never thought I would see in my lifetime.”
Packed within the quote is a giant serving of crow because Powell more so than any analyst was staunch in his belief that when Adidas signed Kanye West in 2013 it would be a disaster for the brand. He also dismissed the rapper’s ability to impact sales in a meaningful way.
As history has shown, bringing on West turned about to one of a series of smart decisions Adidas made that would turn around the brand’s fortune in the U.S. market where it has long struggled.
As well, it should be noted while this news is significant, it comes with an asterisk because NPD collects U.S. sales data from a lot of retailers, but some major ones are left out. Critically, it doesn’t monitor the sales of urban retailers like DTLR or Sheikh Shoes and it also lacks sales data from the brands themselves.
