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Good morning, friends! Welcome back to The Kicks You Wear. Thanks so much for reading. Appreciate you spending some time with me this morning. Hope your week was awesome.
It’s Labor Day weekend here in the states! If I’m being honest, it’s a bit of a sad time for me because it basically means summer is over. But, hey. At least it’s college football season, right?
While you’re at it, make sure you subscribe to my friend Marc Bain’s monthly newsletter on tech and fashion.
Let’s jump in.
Taking The Kids Back to School
For years — decades, even — Nike has been the default footwear brand for kids everywhere. We’ve all been there, right? Everyone wants that shiny new pair of Jordans.
Even if you couldn’t get your parents to pony up for the mainline models, you’d be willing to settle for an offshoot of some sort. Even if it was just a regular Nike model, it was fine, so long as it came with a swoosh or a Jumpman.
These days that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
What’s new: A new survey from wealth management firm Stifel shows that the kids aren’t as interested in jumping like the Jumpman.
The firm visited and called 110 footwear stores in the US to gather data on the most popular athletic footwear styles for boys and girls during the back-to-school selling season. The stores included Dick’s Sporting Goods, Academy Footwear, Foot Locker, Finish Line and JD Sports, Champs, and Hibbett Sports.
The numbers: The returns showed that Nike was still the leader in the space, but far from the margin it had been.
- Only 38.2 percent of retailers referenced Nike as their most popular brand for the 2025 back-to-school season. That’s an all-time low for Nike in the survey, per Stifel. The number was as high as 88.2 percent in 2023.
- Challenger brands struggled to establish a decent foothold in 2023. New Balance (7.7 percent) was the closest competitor then.
Two caveats: It’s worth noting that, while this survey indicates a decline in popularity for Nike, the sample size isn’t necessarily the largest. Some of the retailers included have thousands of retail locations.
Plus, this survey strictly measures popularity in the United States. While the US market is a significant one, this is still a global marketplace. This doesn’t represent things on a global scale.
Yet, still: These numbers are notable. They match a broader trend that tells a story of Nike losing the battle for the attention of Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
- Piper Sandler’s latest Taking Stock With Teens survey backs this up. Nike held on as the most popular footwear brand for teens surveyed at 49 percent, but that number was down from 60 percent on average.
Why this is happening: The first, and arguably most important, factor here is Nike’s staleness. The brand has been clawing its way out of a rut for almost a year now. Before that, it leaned heavily on retro styles and lacked innovation at a time when most consumers were looking for newness.
But, secondly, teens are just far more willing to try new things these days. People are increasingly willing to experiment with their fashion choices across various categories these days.
Why this matters: While the demographic of kids and young teens doesn’t necessarily come with the cash older generations do, what they think of a brand is essential.
- Establishing connections with younger generations now means establishing a connection with the leading consumer of tomorrow. If they buy your brand now, they may buy it in another 10 years when their buying power has grown.
- Plus, teens are trendsetters. They’ve always set the tone for contemporary style. And, these days, they plaster it on social platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Establishing a strong connection with this demographic means creating a brighter future for a brand.
The bottom line: For Nike, regaining the good graces of teens is important. But for companies like New Balance and Adidas, they need to do everything possible to hold the line with new styles and innovation.
Puma May Change Hands Soon
It looks like Puma will be under new ownership soon enough.
The news: The Pinault family, which has owned Puma since 2018 through its holding company, the Artémis Groupe, is meeting with advisors to help it find potential buyers for its 29 percent stake in the company, Bloomberg reports.
Where things are: Puma’s short-term outlook seems pretty bleak.
These setbacks, coupled with headwinds from an increasingly shaky global economy thanks to the United States’ tariff policy, make it easy to see why someone might be searching for a way out of the sportswear business.
The brand has made significant investments in signature basketball athletes like LaMelo Ball, Tyrese Haliburton and Breanna Stewart. It’s poured money into a Formula One partnership with one of the sports’ most popular brands in Ferrari. Despite that, Puma hasn’t found the rising tide to raise its ships.
Don’t get it twisted: Despite the company’s current short-term outlook, there are some positives the brand has going for it.
- It may not be showing up in sales data yet, but the Puma Speedcat is growing in popularity.
- Puma also recently hired a new CEO, Arthur Hoeld, who is Adidas’ former head of global sales.
- The brand has carved out a fashionable niche for itself, working with big names in the space like A$AP Rocky and working with buzzy brands like Collina Strada and showing up on the runway at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year.
The big picture: None of those aforementioned factors will necessarily be game-changing for Puma on their own, but the brand has seemingly built a bit of momentum for itself that shouldn’t be overlooked in any potential sale.
It might be a good time for someone to buy low here.
Arch Manning x Warby Parker
We saw a ton of sports and fashion collaborations come together this week. Breitling and the NFL. Cadillac and Tommy Hilfiger. American Eagle and Travis Kelce. Out of all the deals consummated this week, though, I think Arch Manning and Warby Parker’s partnership might be the most interesting.
What’s happening: The up-and-coming Texas University football star announced a new name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Warby this week.
- As part of the deal, Manning’s partnership will include the introduction of new eyewear collections with him as the centerpiece. He’ll also be introducing local initiatives in Austin, Texas as part of Warby Parker’s Pupils Project — a school-based vision program.
- Manning will also star in a new Warby Parker ad featuring him and his father, Cooper, in time for Texas’ first game on August 30.
Why he matters: If you’re not an American college football fan, you probably have no idea who Arch Manning is. The Texas quarterback is the nephew of Hall of Fame NFL QB Peyton Manning and former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. He’s a bit of a wunderkind in his sport. Think of him the same way you’d think of, say, Victor Wembanyama in the NBA or Kylian Mbappe in his early days.
The situation: NIL deals in college sports are a bit of a new phenomenon. American collegiate athletes weren’t able to capitalize on their name, image, or likeness until July 2021, meaning they couldn’t sign any brand deals while in school, no matter how popular they were.
The marketplace is the wild, wild west. There are hardly any rules or regulations. Luxury fashion brands have avoided the space so far. That’s why this deal is so striking to me.
Why this matters: Warby Parker isn’t necessarily a luxury brand, but it is luxury adjacent. It’s a premium brand exploring a space where similar brands haven’t. That’s interesting. Especially with a player like Manning, who could have a massive long tail as he advances in his career. There is a chance he doesn’t work out — sometimes, college stars flop. Regardless, it’s beneficial for brands to get on board now.
The big picture: If the NFL’s Breitling deal and this Warby Parker partnership for Arch Manning are any indication, luxury seems to see something in the relatively untapped market of American football. There are opportunities available and interesting athletes to work with.
If that’s the case, then we’ll probably see more deals like this one coming for other players soon.
Caitlin Clark’s Signature Journey Begins
The wait is over. Nike has officially made Caitlin Clark one of its signature athletes. On Monday, the brand unveiled her logo publicly for the first time.
Gotta say, guys. I think this looks great.
My thoughts: There’s a clear luxury inspiration with this. The CC obviously reminds you of Chanel, but I think the clearest inspiration for this one is Gucci’s current interlocking Gs logo. It’s almost identical.
Why this matters: Caitlin Clark is the WNBA’s most popular player. Fans have been clamoring for a signature shoe from Nike from the moment she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. While this isn’t Nike presenting the shoe itself, we do know that the process is at least underway and we’re a step closer.
Nike is set up to dominate women’s basketball. Its roster signature includes Sabrina Ionescu, A’ja Wilson and, now, Caitlin Clark — easily three of the most popular players in the league.
If the brand plays things right, it should run this space for the next decade.
#TheKicksWeWear
This is the section where we share our favorite sneakers and favorite outfits from the week. If you have anything you’d like to send, you can forward it to me at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or shoot me something on Instagram, X or BlueSky at @MikeDSykes.
Enjoy!!!
First the homie Yosh got us started with the Shattered Backboards. Love these. Glad everyone is getting pairs.
Then the homie Trudy came through with these Icy AE1s. SOTY 2024.
Then the homie Mark came through with these SICK Salomon x Ama Lou Void XT-Whispers. Get hip to these, guys.
Then Matt took us home with the Chlorine Blue Air Max 97. This is one of my FAVORITE pairs of Maxes. That color is so good.
Greaaaaat stuff, you guys. Bravo.
That’s a wrap, gang. Thanks so much for reading today. Have a fantastic weekend. If you’re reading this from the US, have a great Labor Day weekend. Hope you enjoy some much-deserved time off.
If you have any questions, comments or concerns, feel free to hit me at michael.sykes@businessoffashion.com or tap me on the socials @mikedsykes.
Until next time. Peace and love. Be safe, be easy, be kind. We out.
-Sykes 💯
