Jennerating sales
Adidas US sales top Jordan in Aug.
OMG, did Kendall Jenner just give the business to Michael Jordan?
Less than four months after the 21-year-old model officially signed on to promote the Adidas brand, the German athletic-wear maker has passed Nike’s Air Jordan to become the No. 2 selling sneaker brand in the US, according to an industry group.
“This is an achievement I never thought I would see in my lifetime,” Matt Powell, an analyst with NPD Group, which tracks sneaker sales, tweeted this week.
Adidas in August saw its sales soar by more than 50 percent and its market share by nearly 50 percent, according to Powell. Adidas now controls a 13 percent slice of the US sneaker business.
That’s more than double its share one year ago — and 1.7 percentage points over what it was in June
Nike has a 44 percent stake, down from 60 percent in 2014, NPD reported.
Jenner, with 24.3 million Twitter followers and 83.3 million followers on Instagram, has been sporting Adidas Stan Smith and Superstar kicks and promoting both heavily on social media.
It seems to be having an effect on shoppers. Adidas’ sales of women’s sneakers were up by dou- ble-digit percentages.
Since May 31, Adidas’ ADRs have outgained Nike shares 20.1 percent to 1.1 percent. Over the past year, Adidas ADRs are up 40.2 percent while Nike shares are down 2.7 percent.
Nike remains the topselling brand in the US. Its premium-priced Air Jordan brand, with its Jumpman logo, was started in the mid-1980s to take advantage of basketball great Michael Jordan’s immense popularity.
Kanye West, the husband of Jenner’s half-sister, Kim Kardashian West, also has a deal with Adidas, but Powell downplayed the effect West has had on Adidas sales.
“Adidas sales were negative for two years after signing West,” Powell tweeted.
Nike fell 17 cents, to $53.33, on Tuesday, while Adidas declined 80 cents, to $116.80.