The Boom of Active Wear

Active wear sales growth is higher than the apparel market as a whole according to NPD analyst Marshal Cohen. And major active wear industry leaders have seen this impact on sales. Companies such as Nike, Under Armour, Puma, Lululemon, and Footlocker have all experiences sale leaps from the prior year’s level.

In contrast, many regular clothing brands such as Gap, J.Crew, Abercombie & Fitch are seeing slower growth. Up 4.1% from 2008-2015 on average, athletic wear is thriving in the market. In comparison, non-athletic apparel is reportedly only up 0.2% during this period.

There are many factors that are driving this trend towards athletic wear. Most notably, there has been a huge shift in societies mentality towards clothing and apparel. We no longer dress up every time we go out and have shifted towards comfort and versatility. With this change, active wear has suddenly become stylish. In many Western countries, yoga pants, running shoes, and sweats have now become a huge part of everyday fashion. As a result, athletic wear companies have shifted manufacturing of clothing and marketing strategies to adapt to this changing trend. A company that has adapted to this well is Lululemon. They are using new fabrics and colours that allow people to wear their clothing everyday. With fashion so integrated in culture, many market leaders are seeking influence celebrities who are not athletes to be the face of their companies. Famous model Gisele Bündchen has signed a contract to be one of Under Armours Brand Ambassadors with the hope of reaching and attracting more women to the brand. Meanwhile, Puma has signed TV personality Kylie Jenner to represent the brand in an upcoming marketing campaign.

Whether the trend towards versatility and comfort will remain is debatable and depends on many factors. However, according to a report by Morgan Stanley, active wear is a going to be a huge investment opportunity for companies globally moving forward. As long as athletic wear remains trendy in fashion, non-athletic wear companies will have to change their production strategies to adapt to this new trend in order to stay profitable in the changing market.

Sources:  

http://fortune.com/2014/12/25/athletic-apparel-top-performer/
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/shift-generational-trends-could-spur-201200746.html
http://qz.com/675171/the-rise-of-athleisure-is-eating-into-the-profits-of-regular-clothes/