Driven by high interest in running-influenced lifestyle offerings and solid demand for performance running models, the running category delivered another banner third quarter, with On, Saucony, Altra, and Nike among those posting healthy double-digit gains.

Hoka’s growth slowed sequentially, but it remained up by double-digits and sell-ins and sell-throughs reportedly remained strong. Brooks saw 17 percent growth, driven by International momentum. Asics North America showed mid-single-digit growth, although wholesale growth remains healthy and profits grew.

The growth across brands comes as Circana’s POS data identified that U.S. adult performance running footwear increased 13 percent in the third quarter.

Overall, Circana, the market research and technology company based in Chicago, Illinois found U.S. footwear industry dollar sales grew 3 percent in the quarter, as a 5 percent gain in the Sport Lifestyle category – driven by running-inspired styles – offset a 1 percent decline in Fashion styles. In the performance space, running “continues to be hot,” growing in both dollars and units, as did walking, according to the firm.

The sneaker resale market is also getting in on the Performance Running business, as StockX dubbed this the “Era of the Runner Aesthetic” in its third quarter report. The company’s analysts said running silhouettes are still resonating with buyers, and Asics remains the market leader in the category.

Sales on the StockX site were said to be up 45 percent year-over-year and the Gel-1130 in Black/Pure Silver currently holds the top spot as 2025’s overall best-selling sneaker on StockX. They offered further proof for the their thesis by pointing out that running brands that were once considered niche are now commanding attention on the secondary market. Saucony (+38 percent), Mizuno (+148 percent), and Brooks (+1,508 percent) have all set new sales records on the StockX platform in 2025.

Adidas Bets on Running
After the end of the quarter, Adidas announced that it had appointed Patrick Nava, who joined the company in 2019, as general manager of Adidas Running, where he will lead strategy, product development and global marketing for the division. Nava most recently served as global VP of product management for running. He assumed the role in September 2021.

Altra Q2 Sales Expand Over 35 Percent
Altra’s sales grew over 35 percent in VF Corp.’s fiscal second quarter ended September 27, accelerating from growth of over 20 percent in the fiscal first quarter and marking the third consecutive quarter of strong double-digit growth for the brand.

On an analyst call, VF’s CEO Bracken Darrell said of Altra, “Key franchises that represent a mix of road running and trail running styles show our broad-based approach to building this brand. The growth opportunity for Altra across both road and trail is important.”

He said VF is fueling Altra’s growth by increasing brand awareness with targeted marketing investments, particularly helping drive higher traffic and stronger conversion in e-commerce channels. He noted that Altra’s brand awareness is less than 10 percent in the U.S. and even lower in other regions. Darrell said, “Altra is on track to exceed $250 million in revenue this year, and I’m confident the brand has a long, strong runway for growth for many years to come.”

Asics’ Growth Slows to Single-Digits in the U.S.
Asics North America reported that the U.S. posted single-digit growth in the third quarter in local currencies, slowing from double-digit gains in the second quarter. The more modest growth, in part, reflects efforts to reduce e-commerce sales, with U.S. wholesale remaining the primary driver of growth across all categories, including Performance Running, SportStyle and Core Performance Sports (CPS).

In other regions in Asics North America, Canada and Mexico each produced double-digit quarterly growth in the third quarter compared to the previous year, all in local currency.

Asics Corp. reported that sales in North America grew 5.7 percent to ¥38,559 million ($249 mm) in the quarter, and operating profits reached ¥5,675 million, up 28.2 percent year-over-year.

Asics North America said the run specialty trade channel in the region delivered another strong quarter of double-digit growth, generating over 20 percent quarterly growth year-over-year. Strong sell-through was seen across performance running shoes, including the Megablast, Sonicblast, and Metaspeed Tokyo collections. Asics Heritage line also continued to show strength with a nearly 30 percent sales increase of the Gel-Nimbus footwear model compared to the same period last year.

The SportStyle product category “remains incredibly popular,” generating high double-digit revenue increases with key strategic wholesale partners, according to Asics NA. Similar to the second quarter of 2025, the gains were led by the Gel-1130, generating triple-digit growth, followed closely by the GelNYC shoe, similarly generating triple-digit growth year-over-year.

“I am so very pleased to see consumers seek out Asics footwear for all their needs across all of our categories of business,” said Koichiro Kodama, president and CEO of Asics NA. “We continue to pursue quality business while offering premium products during this exciting time for our industry.”

Brooks’ Q3 Sales Jump 17 Percent
Brooks Running reported sales increased 17 percent in the third quarter, marking its ninth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth with all regions and channels delivering double-digit gains.

The increase was supported by accelerated growth overseas. Year-to-date sales grew 23 percent in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. In Europe, Brooks grew by 15 percent in France and 29 percent in Germany, outpacing market averages. Sales surged 82 percent year over year in the Asia Pacific and Latin America (APLA) region.

Brooks did not quantify its sales performance in the U.S. but noted that the brand achieved No. 1 market share at national retail in running, while Circana figures showed that U.S. adult performance running footwear increased 13 percent in Q3. Year-to-date through Q3, Brooks held three of the top six spots in adult performance footwear styles sold at U.S. national retail, according to Circana.

Core franchises continued to post gains with the Adrenaline GTS up 20 percent and Glycerin up 29 percent in Q3, while full-price products grew 21 percent. Brooks also reported its RSVP Gallery Caldera 8, a new addition to its lifestyle collection, “drew strong interest” from customers.

“I am super proud of the way Brooks is executing, even against a backdrop of continued economic impacts and uncertainty,” said Dan Sheridan, Brooks Running CEO. “More people around the world are running and choosing an active lifestyle, and Brooks is central to their health and wellness goals.”

Hoka’s Q3 Revenues Expand 11 Percent
Hoka’s sales increased 11.1 percent to $634.1 million in the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, with growth slowing from the 19.8 percent growth seen in the previous quarter.

Hoka’s parent Deckers Brands also said it expects Hoka to show an increase in the low-teens percentage for the full fiscal year, below analysts’ expectations for mid-teens growth.

President and CEO Stefano Caroti, on an analyst call, said the weaker guide in part reflects the timing of launches. He said, “We probably have masked a few too many big product launches in the first half of the year, and we didn’t space them out enough. There are a few learnings from us in the transition to the model.”

Management had withdrawn its outlook in recent quarters due to uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.

Deckers’ CFO added that Deckers’ guidance, which also called for a weaker growth rate for its Ugg brand, takes into account that the U.S. consumer “is a little bit more pressured. So, we’re reflecting that in our outlook for the next 6 months.”

Caroti still confirmed that Hoka’s “sell-throughs are stronger than sell-in” and the brand’s “full-price business is very, very strong.”

For the second quarter, wholesale drove Hoka’s growth, up 13 percent, as the brand continues to experience strong sell-in and healthy sell-throughs. Hoka DTC grew 8 percent versus last year as International momentum carried through from the previous quarter and the U.S. business improved, as anticipated.

Global Hoka revenue in the first half (H1) increased by 15 percent versus the prior-year H1 period. Performance was said to be driven by consumer-led updates to the brand’s three largest road running franchises — the Clifton, Bondi, and Arahi — and by updates in the trail category, with the expansion and evolution of the Mafate franchise.

“Bondi, Clifton and Arahi have continued to deliver strong growth and impressive sell-through rates for the brand as consumers embrace the significant enhancements implemented by our product team,” Caroti observed.

He said the success of these top franchises helped Hoka gain market share.

Caroti cited Circana data showing that Hoka gained 2 points of market share in the overall U.S. road running category over the past rolling 12 months ended September 25 and outpaced the competition in Europe, ranking among the fastest-growing road running brands across Italy, France and Germany in the first half of 2025.

Lems Shoes is Newest Category Entrant
The Boulder-based footwear brand known for its commitment to natural foot-shaped designs, said this week it is hitting the road — literally. The company will launch its first-ever road running collection in Fall 2026 with the introduction of the RadMaker and RadUltralite. Both models are expected to debut at The Running Event this December, marking Lems’ official entrance into performance running.

“Entering the road category has been years in the making,” said Lems Shoes Founder Andrew Rademacher. “Our new road running collection is engineered to provide proper toe alignment, optimal metatarsal spread, and a streamlined fit. Designed with our fit-first approach, this new collection prioritizes performance, efficiency, and foot health in a category that is often dominated by fashion and cushioning trends.”

Nike Sees Running Sales Expand Over 20 Percent
Nike saw sales in the running category climb more than 20 percent globally in its fiscal first quarter ended August 31, accelerating from the high-single-digit gain in the prior quarter.

Sales in the running category were up double-digits in the North America region.

Elliott Hill, president and CEO, Nike Inc., noted on an analyst call that running was the first category Nike prioritized as part of its “Win Now” transformation strategy, with the improvement marking the first payback from its “Sports Offense” initiative, which involves organizing internal teams around sports.

Drawing on insights from runners, Hill said Nike’s running team learned that runners mostly want three things from running shoes: big cushioning, stability or an everyday shoe that returns energy. Hill said, “In response, we’ve moved with a sense of urgency and completely redesigned the Vomero, the Structure and the Pegasus to solve for these three insights. Integrating our industry-leading innovation platforms like Nike Air, Flyknit, ZoomX, and React X. Having a consistent structure of silos and price points allows us to introduce at least one new major running footwear style each season. Our running business continues to be a strong proof point of progress.”

The category also benefited from in-store investments at wholesale partners as over 1,300 running spaces were reset in the quarter, including at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Nordstrom and Heartbreak Hill Running Company. Nike also reset its South Congress store in Austin, TX, to focus only on running and training, and sales have “significantly increased,” said Hill.

On’s Sales Jump 34 Percent
On Holding’s sales in Swiss francs climbed 24.9 percent year-over-year, and by 34.5 percent on a constant-currency basis, in the third quarter to CHF 794.4 million ($956 mm), topping analysts’ consensus target of CHF 763.8 million. The gains reflected broad-based demand, with a strong performance across both Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and Wholesale channels.

Currency-neutral sales in the Americas in the third quarter grew 21.0 percent, only slightly below the 23.6 percent pace seen in the second quarter. In other regions outside the Americas, sales in constant currency grew 33.0 percent in EMEA and 109.2 percent in Asia-Pacific.

Sales in its core footwear category gained 30.4 percent on a constant-currency basis. Martin Hoffmann, CEO and CFO, said on an analyst call, “In performance, the Cloudmonster continues to win new fans, and our latest innovations like the Cloud Surfer Max and Cloudboom Max are off to exceptional starts, driving strong results in key sporting goods and run specialty distribution. Meanwhile, in lifestyle, the Cloud Tilt, the Cloud, and The Roger continue to see tremendous demand. This combination of elite performance products and the distinctive edge in the lifestyle segment is what sets On apart.”

Adjusted earnings in the quarter advanced 182.9 percent to CHF 142.0 million, or CHF 43 cents, from CHF 50.2 million, or CHF 15 cents, and well above analysts’ consensus estimate of CHF 15 cents.

On hiked its outlook for the current year on the better-than-expected quarter and healthy orders, while also forecasting currency-neutral growth of at least 23 percent in 2026.

Hoffman said the third quarter marked a “pivotal test of our premium strategy,” as the brand risked a negative consumer reaction to implementing higher prices to mitigate U.S. tariffs.

“The results confirmed our view,” said Hoffmann. “Demand remained incredibly strong for our premium offerings, clear validation of our brand’s pricing power and the impact of our full price strategy. This gives us tremendous confidence heading into the holiday season, where our premium positioning and unwavering commitment to full price selling will be a significant competitive advantage.”

Salomon Sees Performance Running Expansion
James Zheng, CEO, Amer Sports Inc, the parent of the Salomon and Arc’teryx brands shared on a recent investor conference call that the Salomon brand’s performance and running lines are having great success.

“Our GRVL franchise is unlocking the run category for Salomon like never before,” Zheng said enthusiastically on his November 18 call to discuss third quarter results. “Salomon is gaining traction in the run specialty channel in North America and EMEA. And even China, which has been a Sportstyle-centric market is seeing traction in Performance products.”

He said they are also seeing a benefit from improving capability to launch globally coordinated marketing campaigns to support Sportstyle and Performance launches. Zheng said they are seeing accelerating demand in Europe, Salomon’s home market. Salomon is experiencing strong pull demand from consumers, which drives strong reorders, preorders and sell-through for both Sportstyle and Performance.

Looking at U.S. wholesale, he said Salomon is seeing growing demand across a variety of high-quality retail partners, including REI, Nordstrom and run specialty shops. “In EMEA, we continue to expand our store fleets in key epicenters, including Milan and London,” he noted.

Saucony Q3 Sales Jump 27.0 Percent
Saucony sales in the third quarter jumped 27.0 percent (+24.9 percent in constant currencies) year-over-year to $133.1 million. Sales had catapulted 42 percent in the second quarter.

Chris Hufnagel, president and CEO of Wolverine Worldwide, Saucony’s parent, said on an analyst call that the gains were fueled by strong double-digit growth globally in performance running styles, including market share gains in the critical U.S. running specialty channel. The gains were driven by strength across the brand’s four core franchises: Ride, Guide, Hurricane, and Triumph.

Hufnagel said Saucony also continues its strong focus on its pinnacle Endorphin franchise for elite runners that includes the Endorphin Speed for serious training, the Endorphin Pro for race day, and the Endorphin Elite Super Shoe. He said the Endorphin Azura, a premium non-plated trainer coming out next year, will be targeting a larger consumer segment.

Saucony’s lifestyle offerings also drove “strong revenue growth globally and took significant market share here in the U.S.,” led by significant growth in the Pro Grid Omni 9 and Ride Millennium, two retro styles, with classic styles, the Jazz Original and Shadow 5000, “encouragingly beginning to spark interest for 2026 with influential Tier 0 and Tier 1 retailers,” according to Hufnagel.

Overseas, APAC is expected to be Saucony’s “fastest growing region” this year, supported by a Key Cities strategy that includes prioritizing growth in Tokyo and the opening of a Saucony flagship store in Harajuku earlier this year. The EMEA region is on track to deliver strong double-digit revenue growth for Saucony this year, with momentum expected to continue into 2026.

“Brand interest continues to ramp up globally and affinity for the brand continues to increase with runners and more specifically the younger consumer,” said Hufnagel. “While we continue to have success here in our home market, I’m equally excited about the global potential of the brand.”

Image courtesy Altra