Nike is the hottest selling footwear and apparel brand amongst teenagers in the Piper Sandler’s 42nd semi-annual survey this Fall. The brand garnered 27 per cent votes in the apparel category, followed by American Eagle at 7 per cent, and PacSun, Adidas, and Lululemon at 5 per cent. Nike’s vote share was larger in footwear at 57 per cent. Vans came next with 11 per cent, followed by Adidas, Converse, and Foot Locker. In September, Nike reported 16 per cent rise in Q1 revenues to $12.2 billion. The results fell short of estimates of $12.46 billion in revenues from a survey of analysts.

Like other footwear brands, Nike has been significantly impacted by ongoing factory closures in Vietnam, the second largest supplier of footwear to the United States behind China. Nike had almost two months of no unit production in Vietnam when two of its footwear suppliers in Vietnam stopped production in July. Vietnam accounted for 51 per cent of Nike’s footwear and 30 per cent of apparel units last year.

Clothing was the number one spending priority for teens at 22 per cent for the first time since 2014. Athletic emerged as a dominant category in the footwear and apparel sector. These categories are dominated by legacy brands like Nike and Adidas, smaller challengers such as Lululemon and Gymshark are widening their reach.