1. Nike
Incorporated on September 8, 1969, this American multinational corporation has long been dominating the athletic footwear market in the US. It’s also one of the best sports shoes brands in the world. The sportswear giant with its “Just Do It” slogan has captured a huge share of the US market and is a leading footwear brand around the world for products that include athletic apparel, footwear, equipment, and accessories. Lately, Nike has been struggling to gain a strong footing on its home turf, where shoppers are flooded with options from rivals Under Armour and Adidas.
However, the company has seen much success overseas in countries like China, which continues to boost its business. Although Adidas is in a neck-and-neck race with Nike in the US and everywhere else, the latter is still leading the global market and is holding onto its number one spot strongly.
2. Adidas
This Germany-based multinational corporation designs and develops athletic products such as sports shoes, clothing and accessories is one of the top two largest sportswear brands in the world. However, Adidas lags behind its bigger opponent, Nike, particularly in the all-important US market. But, Adidas is hot on the leader’s tail- notching up a sales growth of more than 30% in the US, last year.
In 2017, the company succeeded in reviving its classic sneakers and tapping into a desire for retro chic footwear. With its brilliant understanding of customer demand and incredible marketing strategy, Adidas AG surpassed Jordan, a popular brand by Nike, and Under Armour to take the number two position in the global athletic footwear market.
3. Under Armour
Under Armour, Inc. is a leading American sporting products manufacturer that supplies casual and athletic apparel, as well as footwear. Although it was founded in 1996 and is consequently a much younger brand than established athletic industry leaders Adidas and Nike, Under Armour has been successfully holding the 3rd position in the list of the best sports shoes brands in the US for quite a while now.
The success of Under Armour is attributed to its eco-friendly operations, innovative use of fabric technologies, and high brand recognition from both local communities and professional athletes. However, the company has been struggling to compete in North America, where demand for its products hasn’t been as strong as expected. That’s against a backdrop of companies such as Nike, Adidas, and up-starts like Outdoor Voices stealing market share.
4. Skechers
Skechers is currently one of the largest sports shoes brands in the US. Founded in 1992, this American lifestyle and sports footwear company has been a strong contender, though often overshadowed by other sportswear giants like Adidas and Nike. However, over the last few years, sales at Skechers have been soaring and in 2016, the company recorded a fiscal revenue of US$ 3.56 billion.
Recently, Skechers has been benefited from the athleisure trend in US retail, with shoppers purchasing sport-style shoes and clothes regardless of whether they plan to work out in them. Despite its record-breaking growth in recent years, Skechers still has plenty of scope to grow.
5. New Balance
While many well-known sports shoes brands like Adidas and Nike manufacture their products overseas, the Boston-based athletic footwear brand New Balance continues to manufacture its creative and popular sneakers such as the 990 model in the United States.
One key to New Balance’s growth in the US footwear market is offering something that cannot be accomplished as quickly when sourcing from overseas: customization. New Balance is the only sportswear brand in the US to manufacture over 4 million pairs of sports footwear every year.
