Today’s “Hot” Athletic and Outdoor Brands
Posted by Thomas J. Ryan
Published on June 16th, 2022
L.E.K. Consulting’s First U.S. Footwear and Apparel Brand Heat Index* found that Nike was the most popular brand across athletic categories, while The North Face, Patagonia and Columbia paced the outdoor space. However, many newer brands gained traction and brand recognition that varied across genders and generations.
Athletic Footwear
Nike dominates the Athletic Footwear space as the hottest brand across generations and genders. From there, preferences split by gender, with Vans and Converse performing better with women, while Brand Jordan and Under Armour performed better with men. Hoka One One, On Running and Allbirds were newer brands that gained traction. Training upstart, Nobull, stood out with women. From a generational perspective, On Running stood out in popularity with Gen X (men and women), Allbirds with Millennials, and eco-conscious Parisian sneaker brand VEJA and Brand Jordan performed well with the Gen Z consumer.
Women’s Athletic Footwear
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands are (all respondents): Nike, 100; Adidas, 76; Vans, 72; Brand Jordan, 69; Converse, 67; Under Armour, 59; Nobull, 50; Hoka One One, 50; On Running, 41; and Allbirds, 40.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 80; Converse, 80; Vans, 76; Adidas, 71; VEJA; 76; Nobull, 48; On Running, 47; Tretorn, 46; and Under Armour, 45.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Adidas, 87; Vans, 73; Brand Jordan, 72; Converse, 68; Under Armour, 61; Hoka One One, 57; Puma, 48; Allbirds, 45; Nobull, 43.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 71; Vans, 68; Adidas, 67; Converse, 57; New Balance, 52; On Running, 51; Brand Jordan, 50; Hoka One One, 49; Brooks, 48.
Men’s Athletic Footwear
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (all): Nike, 100, Brand Jordan, 80; Adidas, 74; Under Armour, 59; Vans, 48; New Balance, 44; Puma, 42; Converse, 36; Hoka One One, 28; On Running, 26.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 97; Adidas, 81; Vans, 65; Under Armour, 57; Puma, 44; New Balance, 42; Converse, 40; VEJA, 29 percent; On Running, 27.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Millennials): Nike 100; Brand Jordan 80; Adidas 71; Under Armour 60; New Balance 47; Vans 46; Puma 44; Converse 39; Hoka One One 38; Allbirds 32.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Nike, 100; Adidas, 74; Under Armour, 65; Brand Jordan, 61; New Balance, 48; Puma, 46; Nobull, 45; Vans, 40; On Running, 36; Converse, 35.
Athletic Apparel
Similar to footwear, Nike dominates athletic apparel (performance tops, athletic shorts, joggers, leggings, and more), which is the top brand for men and women. Lululemon is second on the women’s list while reaching seventh for men. The top ten women’s brands also include Gymshark, Fabletics and Sweaty Betty. Adidas, Champion and Supreme are significant for men and women, and startup brands, including Tracksmith, Western Rise and Vissia were popular with men.
Women’s Athletic Apparel
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (all): Nike, 100, Lululemon, 77; Under Armour, 76; Adidas, 76; Gymshark, 65; Fabletics, 64; Supreme, 60; Sweaty Betty, 57; Athleta, 55; Champion, 53.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Lululemon, 93; Gymshark, 79; Adidas, 77; Champion, 71; Girlfriend Collective, 68; Fabletics, 63; Supreme, 60; Alphalete, 56; Sweaty Betty, 54.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Vuori, 86; Under Armour, 82; Adidas, 81; Lululemon, 73; Fabletics, 69; Sweaty Betty, 67; Supreme, 63; 90 Degree by Reflex, 61; Gymshark, 60.
Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-X): Under Armour, 100; Nike, 98; Adidas, 74; Lululemon, 72; Fabletics, 71; Athleta, 71; Girlfriend Collective, 71; Alo Yoga, 71; Supreme, 67; Beyond Yoga, 66.
Men’s Athletic Apparel
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (all): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 84; Adidas, 83; Champion, 61; Supreme, 55; Puma, 51; Lululemon, 42; Reebok, 39; Vissla, 30; Fila, 30.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100, Adidas, 93; Champion, 85; Under Armour, 75; Supreme, 59; Tracksmith, 55; Lululemon, 53; Western Rise, 52; Vissla, 50; Puma, 49.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 90; Adidas, 83; Supreme, 65; Champion, 63; Puma, 60; Reebok, 54; Fila, 46; Lululemon, 43; Rabbit, 38.
Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-X): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 83; Adidas, 78; Champion, 42; Puma, 42; RVCA, 38; Lululemon, 37; Reebok, 35; Tasc Performance, 33; RBX, 32.
Outdoor Footwear
Within the outdoor footwear category, L.E.K. Consulting’s survey outlined a range of performance among the Top 10 brands, with a wide gap between the No. 1 and No. 10 brands. The strongest brand for men and women is Columbia. After Columbia, Bearpaw and Sorel are next on the list of hottest outdoor footwear brands for women, ranking in the Top 5 for all generations. Merrell also performs well, especially with the Gen X consumer. Teva, Arc’teryx and Mammut performed better with Gen Z and women in the Millennial age bracket, whereas C.A.T. Footwear, Salomon, Helly Hansen, and Danner broke the Top 10 only with Gen X. Among men, Oakley and Arc’teryx are the second and third most popular brands, respectively, with Oakley performing better among Gen Z and Millennials and Arc’teryx leading with Gen X. Keen and Merrell also have strong showings, but Black Diamond earned the top spot with Gen Z.
Women’s Outdoor Footwear
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (all): Columbia, 100, Bearpaw, 86; Sorel, 76; Merrell, 43; Arc’terx, 36; Teva, 28; Mammut, 27; Reef, 25; Cat Footwear, 22; Black Diamond, 20.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100, Bearpaw, 80; Reef, 74; Teva, 62; Sorel, 60; Black Diamond, 50; Merrell, 36; Mammut, 34; Arc’terx, 28; Eddie Bauer, 27.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Millennials): Columbia, 100; Bearpaw, 97; Sorel, 85; Arc’teryx, 63; Mammut, 46; Teva, 42; Merrell, 40; Keen, 36; Orvis, 28.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Columbia, 100; Sorel, 80; Bearpaw, 77; Merrell, 71; Black Diamond, 58; C.A.T. Footwear, 56; Salomon, 43; Helly Hansen, 39; Danner, 29; Arc’teryx, 29.
Men’s Outdoor Footwear
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (all): Columbia, 100; Oakley, 77; Arc’Teryx, 65; Keen, 57; Merrell, 57; Black Diamond, 46; Salomon, 37; Reef, 30; Sorel, 28; Cat Footwear, 27.
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Black Diamond, 100; Oakley, 98; Columbia, 97; Reef, 87; Merrell, 85; Bearpaw, 83; Sorel, 67; Cat Footwear, 64; Eddie Bauer, 58; Helly Hansen, 52.
Top 10 Outdoor Footwear Brands (Millenials): Columbia, 100; Oakley, 74; Keen, 51; Salomon, 45; CAT Footwear, 43; Merrell, 40; Sorel, 37; Arc’teryx, 37; Danner, 35; Black Diamond, 31.
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Arc’teryx, 100; Keen, 74; Merrell, 61; Columbia, 61; Teva, 53; Black Diamond, 53; Orvis, 53; Oakley, 50; Salomon, 46; Danner, 43 Outdoor Apparel.
The outdoor apparel market is led by stalwart brands The North Face, Patagonia and Columbia for men and women. Beyond these top three, women’s favorites include broad-based outdoor brands Salomon, Fjällräven and Icebreaker instead of technical/activity-specific brands. Men favor activity-specific brands, including Stio and Helly Hansen, for winter sports.
Women’s Outdoor Apparel
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (all): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 80; Columbia, 76; Salomon, 52; Fjällräven, 51; Black Diamond, 44; Helly Hansen, 41; Icebreaker, 39; Stio, 37; Arc’teryx, 34.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 91; Columbia, 80; Fjällräven, 66; Helly Hansen, 61; Norrøna, 61; Rab, 52; Arc’teryx, 49; Free Fly, 47; Rossignol, 42.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Millennials): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 89; Columbia, 82; Salomon, 76; Fjällräven, 71; Smartwool, 65; Stio, 60; Cotopaxi, 59; Outdoor Research, 56; Helly Hansen, 56.
Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-X): The North Face, 100; Columbia, 74; Salomon, 67; Patagonia, 67; Black Diamond, 64; Icebreaker, 53; Free Country, 49; Stio, 44; Eddie Bauer, 43; Free Fly, 42.
Men’s Outdoor Apparel
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (all): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 76; Columbia, 70; Oakley, 56; Coalatree, 41; Stio, 39; NRS, 36; Helly Hansen, 36; Vollebak, 36; Huk, 36.
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 77; Columbia, 73; NRS, 60; Snow Peak, 54; Norrøna, 49; AETHER, 47; Oakley, 45; Simms, 39; Black Diamond, 38.
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Millennials): The North Face, 100; Oakley, 77; Patagonia, 77; Columbia, 76; Huk, 51; Coalatree, 44; Smartwool, 42; Stio, 41; Filson, 37; Vollebak, 33.
Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-X): The North Face, 100; Helly Hansen, 86; Coalatree, 84; Vollebak, 84; Patagonia, 83; PELAGIC, 73; Cotopaxi, 72; Columbia, 71; Icebreaker, 67; Stio, 60.
Casual Footwear
The hottest casual footwear brands among women are Ugg, Crocs and Birkenstock. Newer players like Rothy’s and Nisolo made it into the Top 10. Generationally, Crocs and Dr. Martens performed better among younger women, whereas more traditional brands like Skechers and Tomes are popular with Gen X. For men, Timberland, Polo Ralph Lauren, Vionic, and Tommy Hilfiger top the list when looking in aggregate across age groups, with Timberland being the standout. Brands including Crocs and Dr. Martens resonate with Gen Z men but do not appear in the Top 10 among Millennials or Gen X.
Top 10 Women’s Casual Footwear Brands (all): Ugg, 100; Crocs, 89; Birkenstock, 74; Tory Burch, 68; Rothy’s, 63; Dr. Martens, 61; Nisolo, 58; Skechers, 58; Timberland, 58; Frye, 58.
Top 10 Men’s Casual Footwear Brands (all): Timberland, 100; Polo Ralph Lauren, 71; Vionic, 52; Tommy Hilfiger, 52; OluKai, 51; Lacoste, 48; GREATS, 47; Skechers, 46; Dr. Martens, 44; Oofos, 40 Casual Apparel.
Leading the women’s casual apparel, the Top 10 are online fast-fashion businesses, including Shein, PrettyLittleThing and Fashion Nova, followed by Carhartt, Free People and Levi’s. Gen Z women differentially favor affordable fast-fashion brands, with Forever 21 and H&M falling in the Top 10 and fast fashion accounting for more than half of the brands. The men’s list features online fast-fashion brands, including Shein and boohoo, but the leading players are more classic brands, including Levi’s, Carhartt and Polo Ralph Lauren. For Gen Z men, fast-fashion players Uniqlo and H&M joined the list, as do American Eagle, Hollister and Hot Topic.
Top 10 Women’s Casual Apparel Brands (all): Shein, 100; PrettyLittleThing, 73; Fashion Nova, 71; Carhartt, 59; Free People, 58; Levi’s, 57; Nasty Gal, 57; Old Navy, 56; Zara, 55; Sézane, 55.
Top 10 Men’s Casual Apparel Brands (all): Levi’s, 100; Carhartt, 77; Polo Ralph Lauren, 70; Shein, 70; UNTUCKit, 52;Scotch & Soda, 51; Peter Millar, 47; boohoo, 46; Lacoste, 46; Mango, 46.
Dress Footwear
The overlap of top brands among men and women is limited in the dress footwear category. For women, Steve Madden, Michael Kors and Coach make up the top three brands, followed by fast-fashion digital player JustFab.
Top 10 Women’s Dress Footwear Brands (all): Steve Madden, 100; Michael Kors, 89; Coach, 80; JustFab, 76; Kate Spade, 69; Calvin Klein, 66; Sam Edelman, 62; Jack Erwin, 54; Chinese Laundry, 54; Margaux, 53.
Top 10 Men’s Casual Dress Footwear Brands (all): Hugo Boss, 100; Ferragamo, 76; Kenneth Cole, 74; To Boot New York, 73; Stacy Adams, 70; ALDO, 62; Steve Madden, 60; Cole Haan, 57; Allen Edmonds, 52; Beckett, Simonon 51.
Dress Apparel
Top performers in the women’s dress apparel category include specialty retail, wholesale and newer DTC brands. Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Hugo Boss lead the men’s dress category. But unlike women’s, the remainder of the Top 10 are established brands, except for the Ministry of Supply.
Top 10 Women’s Dress Apparel Brands (all): Michael Kors, 100; Calvin Klein, 96; Kate Spade, 89; ASTR the Label, 67; Vince Camuto, 63; the Banana Republic, 54; Adrianna Papell, 49; LK Bennett, 49; Le Suit, 49; Milly, 48.
Top 10 Men’s Dress Apparel Brands (all): Calvin Klein, 100; Michael Kors, 81; Hugo Boss, 75; Zegna, 62; Marc New York, 55; Alfani, 54; Emporio Armani, 52; Ministry of Supply, 50; Kenneth Cole, 48; the Banana Republic, 45
“L.E.K. Consulting’s Brand Heat Index was based on a survey of nearly 4,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 14 and 55 with a goal of identifying the ‘most trending’ footwear and apparel brands in the U.S. To assess the relative ‘hotness’ or growth trajectory of each brand, L.E.K. compiled the survey results into a new ‘brand heat index’ across four use-case categories: Athletic, Casual, Outdoor, and Dress. Within each use category, brands earned a heat score expressed on a scale of 0-to-100. Across categories, the Top 10 footwear and apparel brands are ranked by their heat scores within each product category—both in total and across three generations (Gen-Z, Millennials and Gen-X).
Photo courtesy Timberland’s Christopher Raeburn x Earthkeeper’s collection