In an Exclusive Study, NPD Group Tracks the Top 10 Footwear Brands with the Best Sales in 10 Major Categories

12 NPDFN MAY STUDY 29, 2006 FN BREAKING JUNE 30, 2008 NEWS The Brands to Beat In an exclusive study, NPD Group tracks the top 10 footwear brands with the best sales in 10 major categories. By JOCELYN ANDERSON from select department stores, national chains, athletic footwear retailers and specialty stores for the 12-month period ended April 2008. (High-end NEW YORK — The proven winners continue to deliver. brands, smaller boutique names and store-specific private labels were not A new, exclusive Footwear News/NPD Group study shows that, for the part of the study. NPD determined the category breakdown and brand mix. most part, the high-visibility labels — from Skechers to Nike to Ugg — are For a complete list of participating retailers, see page 15.) dominating key categories across the footwear market. It’s been a difficult time for the footwear industry, so it’s no surprise that “Sometimes the surprise is the absence of change,” said Marshal Cohen, most market segments have lost ground in the past year. In fact, the out- chief industry analyst for The NPD Group. “Brands don’t come and go, and door category was the only one that managed to eek out overall sales gains trends don’t disappear. They may rise and fall, but they don’t go away.” for the period. The study ranked the top 10 brands in 10 major footwear categories, in- “You can’t just rest on the laurels of good sales,” said Cohen. “You have to cluding comfort, juniors’, contemporary, athletic-performance, outdoor and go out of your way to keep the product top of mind. And these numbers bear skate, among others. The lists were compiled by NPD from dollar sales data out that’s not what the industry did. Footwear is not going to sell itself.” 13 Women’s Brands nated by familiar names such as Dockers the right price points.” and Sperry Top-Sider. On the casual side, Sperry Top-Sider, Women’s Comfort Show Little Shift “Men are the least likely to brand shift Streetcars and Wolverine all saw im- Brands 2008 2007 Jones Apparel Group and Brown Shoe re- out of anybody,” said Cohen, who noted provements in their rankings. And though main on top of the women’s contemporary that children, women and teens are all Columbia appears stuck at No. 8, Steve Clarks England 1 1 market. Jones owns four of the bestsell- more likely to branch out with new brands. Stoutjesdyk, a buyer at Mieras Fam- Børn 2 3 Easy Spirit 3 4 ing brands on the list, while Brown con- Overall, the men’s category experienced a ily Shoes in Grand Rapids, Mich., said his Aerosoles 4 2 trols three, including Naturalizer, which 1 percent drop from last year, reaching store has done well with the brand. “Co- Merrell 5 5 once again ranked No. 1. $760 million in sales. lumbia has taken on strong and should be What’s What 6 7 Crocs 7 8 The category racked up $2.7 billon in good for next fall too,” he said. “They had a Ecco 8 6 sales for the 12-month period, a 2 per- great summer sandal season.” Sofft 9 10 cent decline from year-ago levels. (That men’s mainstream Hush Puppies 10 9 includes all fashion footwear with a $60 Opportunities Abound Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service price point or less.) Brands 2008 2007 “Naturalizer being available in Famous Foot- Dockers 1 1 For Women’s Comfort wear, one of the largest retailers, and across Sperry Top-Sider 2 3 The competition is heating up in the find a way to diversify its product to be department stores, chain stores and spe- Nunn Bush 3 2 women’s comfort market. Though the embraced by its core customer and con- Timberland 4 4 cialty stores allows them to top the list,” said Stacy Adams 5 5 category saw a 4 percent dip from last tinue to find new customers,” said Co- Cohen. “Does it mean they are the most popu- Giorgio Brutini 6 6 year, retailers report a surge in sales hen. “Not everybody wants to wear that lar? Not necessarily, but people are buying Wolverine 7 9 of comfort brands. The category pulled shoe.” them, because they are the most available.” Columbia 8 8 in $798 million in revenues for the Lozier said the brand is already finding Streetcars 9 11 Deer Stags 10 7 period. success at his shop with more diverse Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service “Our bestsellers are not dress shoes,” styles. “They’re coming up with new said Palmer. “Comfort shoes are doing stuff. We couldn’t keep the wool ones in Women’s Contemporary well. People are doing a lot of walking, the store last winter. We totally sold out But while the big names aren’t chang- buying a better shoe and hoping it lasts of them.” Brands 2008 2007 ing, fresh styling is becoming increas- longer.” Naturalizer 1 1 ingly important for brands, according Crocs, which garnered a seventh place Little Change in Nine West 2 2 to men’s retailers. “Giorgio Brutini is ranking on the list, has been the fastest- LifeStride 3 3 the best,” said Mohammed Asad, owner growing comfort brand of the past three Men’s Comfort Bandolino 4 4 AK Anne Klein 5 6 of Shoe Palace in Pompano Beach, Fla. years. On the men’s side, comfort saw no per- Liz Claiborne 6 5 “They have nice, beautiful styles, and Cohen, however, isn’t sure the enthusi- centage change in sales from last year, White Mountain Footwear 7 7 they keep coming up with new ones at asm for the brand will last. “Crocs must holding steady at $341 million in ▲ Franco Sarto 8 9 Mootsies Tootsies 9 10 Nina Footwear 10 11 Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service Others said the brand has managed to re- invent itself recently. Hawley Lane Shoes in Shelton, Norwalk and Stamford, Conn., will begin stocking Naturalizer in the fall. “Naturalizer is changing,” said GM Bobby Lozier. “They have a lot of nice, sexy shoes with good price points.” At Alec’s Shoes in Nashua, N.H., buyer Wendell Palmer said the dress shoe busi- ness has slowed, and his shop is focusing more on casual brands. As a result, sales of brands such as Liz Claiborne have gone down. However, Franco Sarto is an excep- tion. “They are hitting the younger, profes- sional woman,” said Palmer. Traditional Brands Lead Men’s Mainstream Most male consumers are creatures of habit, so it’s no surprise that the men’s mainstream market continues to be domi- 14 NPDFN MAY STUDY 29, 2006 FN BREAKING JUNE 30, 2008 NEWS revenue. But in this category, smaller men’s side, I still have a whole rack full. names took advantage of a growing mar- Few guys wear them.” men’s Juniors men’s Comfort ket and worked their way up the list. Brands 2008 2007 “Emerging brands put comfort into the Brands 2008 2007 Juniors Continue message in a bigger, better way, and it Skechers 1 1 Rockport 1 1 Steve Madden 2 2 Ecco 2 2 resonated with consumers,” said Cohen. To Favor Style Dr. Martens 3 4 Clarks England 3 4 On the other hand, an established name Trendy is the name of the game in the Dr. Scholl’s 4 5 Børn 4 3 is helping to keep some companies women’s juniors’ category. Despite a 2 per- GBX 5 3 Crocs 5 5 competitive. “Clarks and Hush Puppies are cent slide from last year, the segment took Lugz 6 6 Merrell 6 6 Gotcha Int’L 7 8 Margaritaville 7 8 good, but I would rank them after Rock- in $949 million. (Both juniors’ categories Rocket Dog 8 11 Hush Puppies 8 7 port,” said Asad. “Their styles are gener- were determined by price points and NPD Ocean Pacific 9 9 Birkenstock 9 9 ally good for our older customer base.” brand lists.) Unlisted by Kenneth Cole 10 12 Sebago 10 11 In men’s, Crocs remained in the No. 5 “Style is No. 1 [in juniors’ shoes],” said Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service spot for another year. “They are doing better in women’s,” said Lozier. “On the in Chico, Calif. “No guy is going to buy Women’s Juniors some green polka-dot boots, no matter Brands 2008 2007 how comfortable they are.” And just like in women’s juniors’, Skechers Skechers 1 2 Steve Madden 2 1 and Steve Madden ranked highest in the Mudd Footwear 3 3 category. Still, retailers have noticed the Rampage 4 4 dip in sales. Rocket Dog 5 5 Chinese Laundry 6 10 “We carry Skechers for men, women and Unlisted by Kenneth Cole 7 8 kids. Kids’ [styles] dominate all the time. Report 8 9 Men’s is slow,” said Lozier. “We are trying Mia 9 6 Dr. Scholl’s 10 15 to get the tween and twentysomethings to Source: NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service buy them.” Stuelpnagel has noticed a similar decline in Steve Madden for men, while the women’s Cohen. “But it has to be affordable style. side does much better. He said other men’s So when Skechers and Steve Madden are brands do well in his small college town. under $100, that becomes acceptable “There’s still a big following for Dr. Mar- to the parent. [These brands have] rec- tens,” said Stuelpnagel. “And Dr. Scholl’s ognized who their core customer is, and have come back somewhat.

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