Kanye West once said, "I ain't trying to stunt man, but these Yeezys jumped over the Jumpman," and now it has actually happened, sort of. Kanye's influence and star power has helped the Adidas brand overthrow Jordan Brand as the number two brand in U.S. sport footwear.
According to NPD's sports industry analyst Matt Powell, Nike Inc., which is also the parent of the Jordan Brand, held on to the top spot.
"This is an achievement I never thought I would see in my lifetime," writes Matt Powell. "Adidas sport footwear sales grew more than half for the month and share grew by nearly half, to 13%."
"Adidas basketball grew more than 40%, while Nike declined in the mid-singles and Brand Jordan lost about a third of its sales. Under Armour basketball was down about half."
As Powell also reports, Adidas' sales more than doubled at shoe chains which is why the brand is paying much more attention to those types of stores.
Adidas' Basketball category, which was up 40%, boasts a roster that includes James Harden (Adidas Harden Vol. 1), Damian Lillard (D Lillard 3) and Derrick Rose (D Rose 7) as well as Kristaps Porzingis, Andrew Wiggins, Brandon Ingram, Nick Young and others who repped for the Adidas Crazy Explosive. However, the brand failed to land any of the top prospects prior to the NBA Draft in June, while Nike once again loaded up and Under Armour added Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson and the Mavs' electric point guard, Dennis Smith Jr.
In total, according to MarketWatch, U.S. athletic footwear sales were $1.86 billion, up slightly from $1.85 billion last year. Nike shares are up 5.3% for the year thus far while Adidas shares are up 31.1% for the period.
Check out some additional stats and info regarding Adidas' rise, below.
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