
Athletic footwear market share – additional information
Nike, the world's largest supplier and manufacturer of athletic shoes, apparel and other sports equipment, is a clear leader in the athletic footwear market. Founded in 1964, Nike acquired several footwear and apparel companies such as Cole Haan, Bauer Hockey, Converse, Hurley International, Starter and Umbro over the years, further increasing its market share in the global athletic footwear market. With more than one thousand stores worldwide and almost 20 billion U.S. dollars revenue from its footwear segment, Nike held about 23 percent of the global athletic footwear market share in 2015.
Nike’s main competitor in the footwear market is the German multinational corporation Adidas, one of the most successful sportswear companies in Europe and Nike’s long-term rival. Headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, Adidas is the second largest athletic footwear company in the world with about ten percent of the market share. In 2016, the adidas Group produced around 360 million pairs of shoes, which were sold under brand names such as adidas, Reebok and TaylorMade. This was the highest number since 2008. In 2014, for instance, about 258 million pairs of shoes were produced globally by the adidas Group. Footwear is the most profitable category for the adidas Group, closely followed by apparel.