L.E.K. Consulting’s* second annual U.S. Footwear and Apparel Brand Heat Index found that Nike continues to dominate in popularity across athletic categories, while The North Face, Patagonia, Columbia, and Ugg led the outdoor space. However, many newer brands including Hoka, On, Alo, Cotopaxi, Fjällräven, and Huk gained traction and brand recognition that varied across genders and generations.

Athletic Footwear
In women’s athletic footwear, On surpassed longtime market leader and last year’s top-ranked brand Nike primarily due to its popularity with millennials and Gen X. Hoka also climbed the ranks, surpassing Nike among Gen X consumers, while Adidas fell to No. 5 for women from No. 2 last year as its rankings dropped in the millennial and Gen X cohorts. Indeed, for millennials and Gen Xers, comfort is the primary attribute driving popularity, while Gen Z favors brands like Nike, Brand Jordan and Adidas over technically focused running brands.

In men’s athletic footwear, Nike and Brand Jordan remain the hottest two brands overall, followed by industry stalwarts Adidas and Under Armour. Consistent with the women’s category, younger consumers of men’s athletic footwear appear to more frequently value attributes like style and appearance, whereas Nike and Brand Jordan perform well. Gen X rates Hoka more highly than do other cohorts, largely due to perceived quality and durability. On, by contrast, appears to be gaining less popularity with men than with women, though it is now in the top 10 for all but Gen Z men.

Women’s Athletic Footwear 

  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (all): On, 100; Nike, 89; Hoka, 88; Brand Jordan, 68; Adidas, 66; Under Armour, 61; New Balance and Nobull, tied at 50; Brooks 44; Puma, 40.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 83; Adidas, 70; On, 65; Hoka, 61; New Balance, 59; Under Armour, 49; Puma, 43; Nobull, 42; Reebok, 41.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Millennials): On, 100; Nike, 94 ; Hoka, 84; Brand Jordan, 72; Adidas, 70; Under Armour, 65; Brooks, 47; New Balance, 42; Nobull, 41; Ryka, 39.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-X): On, 100; Hoka, 81;  Nike, 58; Under Armour, 45; Nobull, 44; Adidas, 40; Brand Jordan, 35; New Balance, 32; Altra, 31; Puma, 26

Men’s Athletic Footwear

  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (all): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 93; Adidas, 66; Under Armour, 65; Hoka, 60; On, 59; New Balance, 48; Nobull and Puma, tied at 44; Champion, 40.
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 96; Adidas, 62; Champion, 52; New Balance, 51; Under Armour, 48; Puma, 43;  Brooks, Hoka and Reebok, tied at 31.
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Brand Jordan, 85; Under Armour, 77; Adidas, 74; On, 62; Nobull, 54; Hoka, 52; Puma, 51; Champion and Reebok, tied at 45.
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Hoka, 100; Brand Jordan, 91; Nike, 90; On, 87; Under Armour, 65; Adidas, 57; New Balance, 53; Nobull, 48; Puma, 38; Asics, 33.

Athletic Apparel
In athletic apparel, there is meaningful overlap in the leading brands across genders — Nike remains the top brand for both women and men, while Lululemon, Gymshark, Under Armour, Champion and Adidas also show up on both Top 10 lists.

Similar to last year, Nike and Lululemon take the top spots for women’s athletic clothing, with Lululemon closing in on Nike in terms of heat score (rising to 97 from 77 last year). In addition to Under Armour and Adidas, a range of smaller athleisure brands fill out the list (e.g., Gymshark, Alo Yoga, Fabletics, Vuori and Alphalete), all of which saw their heat scores improve since last year. In particular, Alo Yoga only appeared on the Gen X list last year, but it is a top player across all generations this year; survey respondents cite its premium positioning and social media presence (e.g., influencers, TikTok) as key reasons for its jump in popularity. Gymshark shows comparative strength with younger consumers, coming in third among Gen Z respondents.

Nike has a stronger position in men’s athletic clothing than it does in men’s athletic footwear, with a larger gap between Nike and its closest competitor brand in the No. 2 spot. After Nike, the rest of the top five brands are largely the same as last year, with a focus on large athletic veterans (Under Armour, Adidas and Champion). The latter half of the list, however, has seen an influx of athleisure and smaller brands — Gymshark, 32 Degrees and Rhoback have now joined Lululemon in the top 10. And the preference levels for many of these brands vary across generations; for example, Gymshark performs best with Gen Z consumers while appearing lower in the rankings for millennials and Gen X.

Women’s Athletic Apparel

  • Women’s Athletic Apparel Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (all respondents): Nike, 100; Lululemon, 97; Gymshark, 82; Under Armour, 80; Adidas, 78; Alo Yoga, 76; Fabletics and Vuori, tied at 75; Alphalete, 74; Champion, 67.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Lululemon, 97; Gymshark, 75; Fabletics, 71; Alphalete, 66; Adidas, 65; Champion, 61; Athleta and Ryderwear, tied at 44.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Vuori, 94; Alo Yoga, 91; Lululemon, 88; Adidas, 87; Gymshark, 86; Fabletics, 85; Under Armour, 84; Alphalete, 80; Athleta, 76.
  • Top 10 Women’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-X): Lululemon, 100; Under Armour, 99; Nike, 87; Vuori, 74; 32 Degrees, 67; Adidas, 65; Athleta and Champion, 61; Alo Yoga and 90 Degree by Reflex, tied at 58.

Men’s Athletic Apparel

  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (all): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 77; Adidas, 70; Supreme, 51; Champion, 48; Gymshark, 47; Lululemon, 43; Puma, 41; 32 Degrees, 37; Rhoback, 36.
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): Nike, 100; Adidas, 59; Champion, 58; Gymshark, 51; Fabletics, 48; Lululemon, 46; Under Armour, 44; 32 Degrees and Supreme, tied at 42; Puma, 40.
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Millennials): Nike, 100; Under Armour, 85; Adidas, 78; Supreme, 59; Western Rise, 57; Gymshark, 52; Champion, 51; Alo Yoga and Rhoback, tied at 49; Puma, 48
  • Top 10 Men’s Athletic Apparel Brands (Gen-X): Under Armour, 100; Nike, 90; Adidas, 69; Supreme, 53; Lululemon, 50; Puma, 47; Champion, 45; 32 Degrees, 43; Rabbit 38; Gymshark, 37.

Outdoor Footwear
The range of performance across the top 10 brands in outdoor footwear is quite large, with notably low consumer enthusiasm beyond the leading players. From a gender perspective, Columbia is one of the top brands for both women and men while the others vary.

In women’s outdoor footwear, Ugg is considered the hottest brand across generations due to its appealing style. Columbia and Hunter Boots round out the top three spots overall but show greater popularity among Gen Z and millennials. Younger consumers also show a preference for outdoor/active sandal brands, with Chaco, REEF and Teva all making the top 10 for Gen Z. Sorel and Bearpaw are the Nos. 2 and 3 brands for Gen X, respectively, but have slipped in rankings for younger consumers relative to prior years.

In men’s outdoor footwear, Timberland and Columbia are the top two brands overall and across generations, with Columbia narrowly surpassing Timberland — and only among millennials. When asked about attributes driving popularity, survey respondents suggest that style underlies the brand heat for Timberland while comfort is key for Columbia. Relative to last year, Arc’teryx and Keen have dropped significantly in the rankings, especially among Gen X consumers who previously rated the brands in the top two spots. Conversely, Oakley has gained popularity with Gen X, jumping from No. 8 last year to No. 3 this year.

Women’s Outdoor Footwear

  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (all): Ugg, 100; Columbia, 70; Hunter Boots, 59; Muck Boots, 51; Sorel, 49; Bearpaw, 46; Arc’teryx, 38; Keen and Reef, tied for 26; Salomon,
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Ugg, 100; Columbia, 69; Hunter Boots, 49; Chaco, 46; Bearpaw, 44; Muck Boots, 40; Reef, 33; LL Bean, 31; Teva, 30; Helly Hansen,
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Millennials): Ugg, 100; Hunter Boots, 87; Columbia, 84; Muck Boots, 56; Sorel, 53; Bearpaw, 42; Salomon, 37; Teva, 30; LL Bean, 36; Keen 35; Merrell, 30.
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Footwear Brands ( Gen X): Ugg, 100; Sorel, 75; Bearpaw, 72; Muck Boots, 68; Reef, 63; Arc’teryx, 62; Columbia, 59;  Keen, 46; Hunter Boots, 34; Chaco,

Men’s Outdoor Footwear

  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (all): Timberland, 100; Columbia; 91; Oakley, 60; CAT Footwear, 54; LL Bean, 52; Ugg, 51; Merrell, 47; Danner, 39; Arc’teryx, 37; Salomon, 35.
  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-Z): Timberland, 100; Columbia, 81; LL Bean, 71; Ugg, 67; Oakley, 59; CAT Footwear, 51; Chaco, 46; Arc’teryx, 37; Eddie Bauer, 36; Bates, 31.
  • Top 10 Outdoor Footwear Brands (Millennials): Columbia, 100; Timberland, 97; CAT Footwear, 65; Danner, 62; Merrell and Oakley, tied at 59; LL Bean, 58; Bearpaw, 55; Ugg, 53; Eddie Bauer, 48.
  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Footwear Brands (Gen-X): Timberland, 100; Columbia, 83; Oakley, 74; Merrell, 52; Salomon, 50; CAT Footwear, 45; Ugg, 41; Arc’teryx, 40; LL Bean, 39; Keen, 38.

Outdoor Apparel
For both women’s and men’s outdoor apparel, The North Face, Columbia and Patagonia again top the list in varying permutations across generations. In the women’s category, The North Face leads overall, while Columbia has risen to become the No. 1 brand among millennials. Across the top three incumbent brands (The North Face, Patagonia and Columbia), survey respondents cite overall brand appeal and quality as key drivers of popularity, though Patagonia indexes more toward brand purpose and style and Columbia indexes more toward comfort. Cotopaxi and Fjällräven have both shown improvement since last year, with Cotopaxi performing strongly with both Gen Z and millennials, while Fjällräven is gaining popularity with Gen X). In men’s outdoor apparel, The North Face, Patagonia and Columbia earned the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 spots, respectively, in each generation, demonstrating outdoor apparel’s much greater consistency in brand trajectory across generations compared with other apparel categories. Smaller fishing lifestyle brand Huk has shown strong growth since last year, coming in at No. 5 overall, up from No. 10 last year. Arc’teryx has broken into the top 10 in all age groups this year after not appearing in the top 10 previously, with survey respondents citing materials, durability and technical performance as key drivers.

Women’s Outdoor Apparel

  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (all): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 97; Columbia, 90; Fjällräven, 62; Cotopaxi, 59; Arc’teryx, 51; Black Crows, 47; Aether and Snow Peak, tied at 45; Sherpa, 42.
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 90; Columbia, 81; Cotopaxi, 77; Snow Peak, 63; Black Crows and Eddie Bauer, tied at 56; Outdoor Research, 54; Arc’teryx, 49, LL Bean, 47.
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Millennials): Columbia, 100; Patagonia, 98, The North Face, 96; Cotopaxi, 72; Fjällräven, 56; Sherpa, 47; Free Country, 44; Free Fly, 40; Arc’teryx, 38, Smartwool, 36.
  • Top 10 Women’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-X): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 96; Fjällräven, 79; Columbia, 76; Arc’teryx, 63; Aether, 59; Coalatree, 57; NRS, 48; Mackage, 43, Smartwool, 42.

Men’s Outdoor Apparel

  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (all): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 83; Columbia, 75; Arc’teryx, 56; Huk, 55; Smartwool, 43; Oakley, 42; Fjällräven, 40; Burton, 38; Sherpa,
  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-Z): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 98; Columbia, 89; Oakley, 63; Helly Hansen, 61; Arc’teryx, 57; Marmot, 44; Eddie Bauer, 42; Kuhl, 40; Salomon,
  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Millennials): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 79; Columbia, 72; Huk, 60; Arc’teryx, 59; Smartwool, 56; Sherpa, 55; Burton, 53; Fjällräven, 51; Salt Life,
  • Top 10 Men’s Outdoor Apparel Brands (Gen-X): The North Face, 100; Patagonia, 93; Columbia, 87; Huk, 76; Arc’teryx, 69; Fjällräven, 57;  Marmot, 53; LL Bean, 51; Free Country and Smartwool, tied for 49.

*L.E.K. Consulting’s Brand Heat Index is based on a survey of nearly 4,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 14 and 55. Within product categories and generational cohorts, each brand earns a heat score on a scale of 0 to 100. The higher the score, the hotter the brand. The Brand Heat Index identifies brands that are on the most positive growth trajectory with shoppers, not necessarily their relative size or scale. To read the study, go here. 

Photo courtesy Getty