EXEC: Report Sees Crocs, Hoka, New Balance, and On Increasing Teen Appeal

Crocs, Hoka, New Balance, and On were among the brands in the active lifestyle space that increased their appeal with teens in Piper Sandler’s 46th Semi-Annual Taking Stock With Teens Survey.*

Nike dominated teen mindshare in footwear and apparel but lost its appeal in the performance category, while Adidas, Converse, Under Armour, and Vans also lost ground with the demographic. Lululemon had a mixed performance.

The survey found that athletic footwear brands lost some share. Among upper-income female teens, 87 percent prefer an athletic footwear brand, down 100 basis points year-over-year, although up 300 basis points sequentially. Among upper-income males, 87 percent favor an athletic footwear brand, down 200 basis points year-over-year. However, athletic apparel was found to be trending upward. Among upper-income female teens, 47 percent preferred apparel brands that were “athletic,” up 300 basis points year-over-year and 200 basis points versus Spring 2023. Nike took a 33 percent share, followed by Lululemon with a 10 percent share.

Findings among brands in the active lifestyle space include:

• Adidas remains the third favorite footwear brand among average-income teens behind Nike and Converse, with mindshare of 7 percent, flat year-over-year. Among males, Adidas ranked as the second favorite footwear brand with a 10 percent mindshare, down from 11 percent in Fall 2022. Among female teens, Adidas ranked fourth with 3 percent mindshare, the same as Fall 2022. In apparel, Adidas moved from the No. 7 favorite brand in Fall 2022 to No. 8 in Fall 2023, with a mindshare of 3 percent in each period. Among males, Adidas continued to rank as the second favorite brand in apparel, although its mindshare shrunk to 5 percent from 6 percent in Fall 2022.
• Brooks tied for tenth with Under Armour as the favorite footwear brand for average-income male teens. Among athletic footwear brands, Brooks ranked fifth among average-income teens, including fifth among males and sixth among females. Among upper-income teens, Brooks ranked as the 6th favorite athletic footwear brand, behind Nike, Adidas, Hoka, New Balance, and On. It ranked fourth in athletic footwear among upper-income males and sixth among upper-income females.
• Converse maintained its position as the No.2 favorite footwear brand among average-income teens, although its mindshare eased to 9 percent from 10 percent year-over-year. Converse continued to rank among average-income female teens as the second favorite footwear brand, although its mindshare eased to 17 percent from 18 percent in Fall 2022. Among average-income male teens surveyed, Converse ranked sixth with a 2 percent share, down from fourth with a 3 percent mindshare in Fall 2022. Among upper-income teens, Converse ranked second among females with a 19 percent mindshare and tied for seventh among males with a 1 percent share.
• Crocs held the No. 6 favorite footwear brand spot, sequentially gaining 40 basis points of mindshare and 30 basis points year-over-year. Crocs moved to the No. 5 favorite footwear brand among male teens, up from No. 6 in the Spring and Fall 2022. The largest mindshare gain was among average-income (AI) teens.
• Foot Locker was the No. 9 favorite footwear brand among teens, up from No. 10 in the Spring but down from No. 8 in Fall 2022. Mindshare declined ten basis points year-over-year, led by a decline in female mindshare, but improved 15 basis points sequentially. The biggest sequential increase in mindshare was among upper-income teens (+35 basis points) versus average-income teens (+10 basis points). Piper Sandler said in the study, “Although we are encouraged by positive sequential trends, the year-over-year decline in mindshare still gives us caution on FL’s relevancy among the core teen demographic.”
• HeyDude, owned by Crocs, Inc., was the No. 7 favorite footwear brand, up from No. 8 in the Spring, gaining 35 basis points of mindshare sequentially and 50 basis points year-over-year.
• Hoka, owned by Deckers Outdoor, moved to the No. 3 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper-income teens, up from No. 4 in the Spring and Fall 2022, gaining 55 basis points of mindshare sequentially and 200 basis points year over year. Hoka was the No. 2 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper-income female teens, up from No. 3 in the Spring, and Hoka gained 365 basis points of mindshare year-over-year with this demographic. Hoka was the No. 13 favorite footwear brand overall, up from No. 17 last Fall.
• Lululemon held the No. 3 favorite apparel brand ranking yet lost 30 basis points of mindshare sequentially and 50 basis points year-over-year. However, Lululemon had the No. 1 apparel brand ranking among upper-income females. Lululemon was the No. 2 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income teens, gaining 290 basis points sequentially and year-over-year, and was the No. 1 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income female teens. Lululemon lost athletic apparel share mindshare among AI teens, down 100 basis points sequentially and 45 basis points year-over-year, possibly due to pressure on discretionary spending and Lululemon’s premium price point. Alo Yoga and Vuori combined represented less than 0.15 percent of upper-income mindshare, while Lululemon represented 25.2 percent. Of female teens, 11.6 percent cited Lululemon as a new brand they wore, compared to 10.8 percent in the Spring.
• New Balance surpassed Vans as the No. 4 favorite footwear brand, gaining 200 basis points of mindshare year-over-year. Among average-income male teens, New Balance moved ahead of Vans to become the third favorite footwear brand behind Nike and Adidas. NB mindshare among male teens improved to 4 percent from 2 percent. Among female teens, New Balance improved to fifth from sixth favorite footwear brand with a mindshare of No. 3. Among upper-income teens, NB moved ahead of Vans to rank third among males year-over-year and also ranked third among females, moving ahead of Adidas and Vans.
• Nike continued to be the No. 1 favorite brand across apparel, athletic apparel, footwear, and athletic footwear. In footwear, Nike sequentially gained 35 basis points of mindshare and added 180 basis points year-over-year. That said, in athletic footwear, Nike lost 175 basis points of mindshare sequentially among upper-income teens and 390 basis points year-over-year as brands such as Hoka, On and New Balance gained share. Nike gained 170 basis points of apparel mindshare sequentially and 375 basis points year-over-year, but, similarly, Nike lost 75 basis points of athletic apparel mindshare year-over-year among upper-income teens, including a 380 basis points year-over-year decline among upper-income female teens. Piper Sandler said, “We think Nike continues to lead in sportswear, which is arguably more exposed to macro pressures but is losing share in performance, especially among an upper-income consumer.”
• The North Face was the No. 8 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income teens, down from No. 6 in the Spring and No. 7 in the Fall 2022.
• On was the No. 8 favorite footwear brand, up from No. 12 in the Spring and Fall 2022, gaining 30 basis points of mindshare sequentially and 35 basis points year-over-year. On outpaced Hoka by 35 basis points in overall favorite footwear brand mindshare. On also maintained the No. 5 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper-income teens, gaining 100 basis points sequentially and 115 basis points year-over-year. Among upper-income female teens, On was the No. 4 favorite athletic footwear brand, up from No. 5 in the Spring, and gained 250 basis points of mindshare with female upper-income teens year over year. Piper Sandler said in its study, “We think this exemplifies [On’s] increasing credibility in performance in tandem with the significant lifestyle opportunity from styles such as Cloudnova, which are resonating with younger consumers.”
• Puma ranked as the No. 9 favorite footwear brand among average-income teens, up from No. 10 in the Fall 2022 survey. Among average-income teens, Puma ranked as the No. 8 favorite athletic footwear brand. Puma ranked as the No. 6 favorite athletic footwear brand among all male teens and was No. 13 among upper-income female teens.
• Skechers was the No. 15 favorite footwear brand, up from No. 16 in the Spring and Fall 2022. Mindshare was roughly flat sequentially and year-over-year. Skechers was the No. 11 favorite athletic footwear brand among upper- and average-income teens, up from No. 12 and No. 13 last Fall. Piper Sander observed in its study, “We don’t believe teen mindshare is necessarily important for SKX, but we are encouraged by slight improvements in footwear rank.”
• Ugg, owned by Deckers Outdoor, was the No. 8 favorite brand among average-income female teens and the No. 5 favorite brand among upper-income female teens.
• Under Armour remains the No. 1 brand no longer worn by upper-income male teens, with 27 percent of upper-income teens citing Under Armour as a brand they no longer wear (+450 basis points year-over-year). Under Armour was the No. 4 favorite athletic apparel brand among upper-income and average-income teens, losing 40 basis points and 100 basis points of mindshare year-over-year among the respective income groups. However, Under Armour gained mindshare sequentially with upper-income teens in athletic apparel and athletic footwear, 85 basis points in apparel and 25 basis points in footwear, and Under Armour gained 120bs of athletic apparel mindshare sequentially with upper-income females. Piper Sandler said, “We think sequential mindshare gains among [upper-income] teens could be a result of new product releases like slip speed, but we continue to believe [Under Armour] has lost relevancy with its target demographic.”
• Vans fell to the No. 5 favorite footwear brand from No. 4 in the Spring, losing 150 basis points of mindshare sequentially and 350 basis points year-over-year. Vans lost 300 basis points of mindshare year-over-year among male teens and 400 basis points year-over-year with female teens. Piper Sandler said in the study, “Although we have seen some green shoots on new products such as Knu Skool, we do not think new product has been enough to fill the gap left by weakness in core classics.”

Surveyed Teens Favorite Brands by Category:

• Footwear
  • Average-Income Teens: Nike, 61 percent; Converse, 9 percent; Adidas, 7 percent; New Balance, 3 percent; Vans, 3 percent; Crocs, 2 percent; HeyDude, 1 percent; On Running, 1 percent; Foot Locker, 1 percent; Ugg, 1 percent.
  •  Male, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 67 percent; Adidas, 10 percent; New Balance, 4 percent, Vans, 3 percent, Crocs, 2 percent; Converse, 2 percent; HeyDude, 1 percent; Foot Locker, 1 percent; Puma, 1 percent; Brooks/Under Armour (tie), 1 percent.
  • Female, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 56 percent; Converse, 17 percent; Vans, 3 percent; Adidas, 3 percent; New Balance, 3 percent; Crocs, 2 percent; HeyDude, 1 percent; On, 1 percent; Ugg, 1 percent.
• Athletic Footwear
  • Average-Income Teens: Nike, 71 percent; Adidas, 10 percent; Hoka, 4 percent; 4) New Balance, 3 percent; 5) On, 3 percent.
  • Male, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 71 percent; Adidas, 13 percent; New Balance, 4 percent;  Brooks, 2 percent; Hoka, 1 percent.
  • Female, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 74 percent; Adidas, 5 percent; Hoka, 4 percent; New Balance, 3 percent; On, 2 percent.
• Apparel
  • Average-Income Teens: Nike, 35 percent; American Eagle, 6 percent; Lululemon, 6 percent; Shein, 3 percent; H&M, 3 percent; PacSun, 3 percent; Hollister, 3 percent; Adidas, 3 percent; Brandy Melville, 2 percent; Target, 1 percent.
  • Male, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 53 percent; Adidas, 5 percent; Hollister, 2 percent; H&M, 2 percent;  Under Armour, 2 percent; Lululemon, 2 percent; American Eagle, 2 percent; PacSun, 2 percent; Ralph Lauren, 1 percent; Vans, 1 percent.
  • Female, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 15 percent; American Eagle, 11 percent; Lululemon, 11 percent;  Shein, 7 percent; PacSun, 5 percent; H&M, 4 percent; Hollister, 4 percent; Brandy Melville, 4 percent; Target, 2 percent;  Forever 21, 2 percent.
• Athletic Apparel
  • Average-Income Teens: Nike, 62 percent; Lululemon, 11 percent; Adidas, 6 percent;  Under Armour, 4 percent; GymShark, 3 percent.
  • Male, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 67 percent; Adidas, 8 percent; Under Armour, 6 percent; GymShark, 3 percent; Dick’s Sporting Goods, 2 percent.
  • Female, Average-Income Teens: Nike, 55 percent; Lululemon, 23 percent; Adidas, 3 percent; Under Armour, 3 percent; GymShark, 3 percent.

Surveyed Teen’s Favorite Websites to Shop

• Upper-Income: Amazon, 59 percent;  Shein, 7 percent; Nike, 6 percent; Lululemon, 2 percent; Brandy Melville, 2 percent; Depop, 1 percent; Aerie, 1 percent; PacSun, 1 percent; StockX and Temu, 1 percent.

Surveyed Teen’s Top Fashion Trends

• Female, Upper-Income: Leggings/Lululemon, 41 percent; Crop Tops, 8 percent; Jeans, 5 percent; Nike/Jordans, 4 percent; Baggy/Saggy Pants, 3 percent; Ugg, 3 percent; Cargo Pants/Shorts, 2 percent; Athletic Wear, 2 percent; Converse, 2 percent; Stanley Cup, 1 percent.
• Male, Upper-Income: Nike/Jordans, 28 percent; Athletic Wear, 9 percent; Baggy/Saggy Pants, 5 percent; Shorts, 4 percent; Hoodies, 4 percent; Crocs, 4 percent; 5-Inch Inseam Shorts, 3 percent; Cargo Pants/Shorts, 2 percent; Short Shorts, 2 percent.

*Piper Sandler conducted the survey of 9,193 U.S. teens across 49 states with an average age of 15.7 years from September 4-27.  To read the full report, go here.

Photo courtesy Under Armour