Nike continues to reign supreme among teens: Survey

Tue, Oct 5, 2021, 10:22 AM 2 min read

Nike is the number 1 apparel brand among teens for the eleventh straight year and is also the top choice for teens when it comes to footwear. According to Piper Sandler, the Swoosh brand widened its margin vs. No. 2 player in the space Vans, capturing 57% of the vote and gaining 500 basis points year over year, and the dominance among teens does not stop there. Nike-owned brand Converse is also on the rise, coming in at the No. 4 in footwear for teens.

Comfort and perhaps unintentionally fashionable brand Crocs (CROX) fared well with teens in its own right. It was the sixth preferred footwear brand this fall — up from its ninth place finish the year prior.

People wearing protective face masks walk past the closed Nike store on a nearly empty 5th Avenue, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Manhattan, New York city, New York, U.S., May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar · Mike Segar / reuters

Despite earning the top spots in both footwear and apparel, Nike is not without its problems. Global supply chain issues have plagued the brand for months and led to a rare Q1 revenue miss. However, Piper Sandler Senior Research Analyst Erinn Murphy believes that the brand’s heat at this moment is something to behold.

“I think the brand speaks for itself … We believe that scarcity has driven the mode. Clearly if you can’t find any product — that’s a problem,” says Murphy.

“The fact that the brand time and time again hits at the top of this Gen-Z demographic is the relevant point here,” Murphy added.

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.