Recently, Quartz published The 10 Best Selling Sneakers of 2016 as based on research found by Matt Powell and the NPD Group, as represented in the US market. While debates on social media often center around culture versus consumption, influence versus inline sales, the final power rankings definitely make for some pondering over just who is responsible for moving needle on the business end of footwear and just how big the entire US market really is.
Going shoe by shoe, get our own sneakerhead synopsis on what to take away from the bigger picture of what these sales mean in relation to the culture and the consumption in our country as a whole.
10. Nike Kyrie 2
Takeaway: Kids matter, winning matters
2016 was the year of the lifestyle runner as far as sneaker culture was concerned, but basketball is still at the heart of athletic footwear. While active athletes like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry didn’t make last year’s top ten sales list, Kyrie Irving has cracked the last spot.
Why? There are a few reasons but we’re sticking with two. First, the youth market matters and right now Irving is the man. Simply put, Kyrie’s game and shoe resonate more with the youth than any other signature athlete on the market. Relatable in size, aspirational in skill, Kyrie has the game you practice to get and have fun in doing so. Off the court, he’s cool, stylish and down to earth which always helps, too. As for his shoe, the design, price-point and colorways are more connected to kids than lofty LeBrons or occasionally swagless Stephs. One could definitely argue that the aforementioned athletes are better than Kyrie — and maybe their shoes are for playing in, too — but the fun factor and the $120 or less retail outweighs athleticism in this day and age in a space where kids cop more shoes than adults.
Secondly, Kyrie hit a championship winning shot in the Kyrie 2. Trends come and go, but winning has always mattered and always will. While Tinker Hatfield designs and YouTube highlights help keep Mike af light years past his prime, when anyone is asked why he’s still the GOAT, the answer is a number but the number is never a roman numeral nor a scoring average: it’s always six rings.
9. Nike Air Force 1 Low
Takeaway: Classics always cash in
The Nike Air Force 1 has fluctuated in popularity and shifted shape, scene and style, but it’s never truly left. Though adaptation by the Tumblr crowd, wear from rappers and designer do-ups have elevated the cool cache associated with the AF1, it’s still a time-tested staple that’s going to sell more pairs in all-white or all-black leather than that of multicolor Flyknit. Even 35 years after its introduction and oodles of innovations that have taken these from pillow to brick comfort status, a pair of Forces still wear well with any outfit or work uniform, making them more nimble than trend sensitive styles that shake up the social space.
8. Air Jordan 11
Takeaway: Jordan still owns the fourth quarter
Closing 2015, many looked at the Air Jordan 11 “72-10” as the first holiday season L thrown up by Jordan Brand pretty much ever. While some were skeptical about the colorway, concept or remastered price tag, the knock in sneaker culture was that revamped Air Jordan 11 didn’t sell out on the day of drop, making the “72-10” less desirable from both a chase and resale perspective.
Say what you will about that shoe or the fandom fallout since, but it’s hard to find any fault with the “Space Jam” story of 2016. Selling out all over the country with no news of bloodshed upon launch (a tragic theme amongst previous 11 releases) and no tears shed over pairs not popping up under trees, these were produced to the tune of a ton of pairs with speed and safety of sales at an all-time high. When it comes to kicks, have a single pair of shoes ever moved that fast with that many smiles — but still just one style?
Props to the people, stores and JB for this one going so well. While everyone being able to get the “Space Jams” might not make them the totem pole shoe they once were, aren’t we all better off by being able to get a shoe like that easily and then wait five years for the next re-retro?
7. Nike Free RN
Takeaway: Technology takes a long time to trickle down
Nike introduced Free Cushioning in 2004 as a revolutionary reaction to the running barefoot trend and perhaps an in-house foil to their own Air Max methodology. Theoretically cheaper than Air to produce and much lighter to ship — whether Business to Business in bulk or individually on travel — the tech would crossover to basketball and lifestyle but would always be footed in running. After many years and many iterations, the tech would officially hit its stride in 2011 with the pivotal Nike Free Run 2 — an aggressive but accessible design that swept the suburbs and even got recycled onto the next year’s marquee Air Max model.
With roots in 2004 and a peak in 2011, few ‘experts’ still view Free as pushing the envelope in regards to style or performance with Boost, Air and even Lunar all miles ahead of it. So, how is it still moving in 2016? Mass markets love what they know and safe is always an easy sell. Add on the underrated and underpriced Engineered Mesh upper and you have a shoe that’s easy to produce, easy to wear and even easier to sell. Your basic workout shoe doesn’t get much better or more basic — or does it…
6. Nike Revolution
Takeaway: Simple sells
Will the real Air Monarch please stand up? While the Pete Carroll classic has dominated dad swag for its fare share of summers, Full House might have just lost its time slot to Modern Family. Aesthetically and technically the Nike Revolution is perhaps everything but its name, or ironically all that in the same, for the fact that it totes no tech in the tagging or the actual build.
Sporting Foam that is not Lunar and branding that is not even embroidered, these may have just brought sleek to the dad shoe sector and cozy to the care less crowd thanks to its humble but helpful no-sew construction. The result? An easy wear at an easy price-point makes this simple shoe department store dynamite.
5. Nike Air Huarache
Takeaway: Malls matter
Shopping malls as ’80s babies grew up on may be shutting down in bunches, but the shoes we bought from them and the stores we bought them from then still have pull both in real life and online. Case in point? The Nike Air Huarache Run and its Ultra adaptations.
To most on or ahead of trend, the Tinker Hatfield design from ’91 peaked in the lifestyle space a few years back as it capitalized off the cozy casual runner lane opened up by the Roshe and the appetite for nostalgia that’s drove sneaker culture every year but last. While readers of this site may have moved on from the Huarache Run seasons if not years ago, the design is still dope and the comfort is hard to argue, thus making it the perfect pair to sell in bunches at Champs, Foot Lockers and Finishlines all around the nation.
4. Nike Roshe Run
Takeaway: But wait, shouldn’t these be NMDs?
The Boost wave ran through sneaker culture so hard in 2016 that some collectors were selling off their orange box favorites to make room for every tech-toting drop from adidas. On top of that, some would even say that the unofficial NMD Day was a much bigger event than the very official Air Max Day as lines formed around the countries at boutiques and big box stores alike for a chance to cop the new-new from adidas.
Well, as big of a 2016 as the NMD had it still owes a lot of that success to the Nike Roshe Run. Seemingly designed to do nothing in and worn for everything by everyone just the same, the Sportswear standout revolutionized the sneaker space by selling comfort cheaply and colorfully. Yes, the Roshe changed the game.
Taking to the same lane but splicing in trending tech and just a pinch of nostalgia, the NMD ate the Roshe Run culturally in 2016. However, a $25 difference in price and the actual speed of trends see the Four Pins dunce making a much bigger dent on nationwide sales in 2016.
3. Converse Chuck Taylor Ox
Takeaway: Classics never fade
If any shoe is a true classic its the Converse Chuck Taylor. Adopted by all walks of life and sold as such, the Chuck has proven more stable in sales than any other sneaker with similar tenure. While Nike’s divesting of other owned brands provided added attention to Converse and the implementations of Lunar cushioning and lightened weight, the #3 spot of the Ox iteration proves that reliability, wearability and cost keep this canvas classic soaring after all these years.
2. Air Jordan 12
Takeaway: Some things matter more in real life than they do on the internet
In a year where retro basketball as most of us know it all but died, how did the Air Jordan 12 make it to the #2 spot on this list? More so, how did it make it over more coveted contemporaries of the culture like the 1, 3, 4 or 11?
There’s a hoard of reasons, so let’s get started. First, let’s give JB props as the Air Jordan 12 had perhaps the best colorway rollout of any mass market retro we’ve ever seen. The OGs were great, the retro+ re-releases were right on time and new colorways for guys, girls and kids were all good. From both a style and allocation standpoint, Jordan Brand made a ton of 12s and they almost all sold through at a whopping retail that peaked at $190 plus tax.
As a reference mark, the 12 hits a sweet spot of being easily recognizable. Through OGs, retro releases and kids being grandfathered into Jordan loyalty, literally everyone knows this shoe. On top of that, they’re less risky than their contemporaries and they take well to outfits both athletic and contemporary.
So, while lack of resale and the rise of Yeezy may have Jordan on the back burner online, they still matter a ton just about everywhere else. As the power shift of trend setting starts to shift in the digital age, it will be very interesting to see which MJs remain hot and which pairs fall out of retro rotation.
1. adidas Superstar
Takeaway: Girls matter, celebs matter, and yes, adidas won 2016
There’s a lot to draw from the adidas Superstar being the highest selling sneaker of 2016 — especially with no Boost or Kanye endorsed models cracking the top ten. Where should we start?
First off, as under appreciated and over pandered as women have been in the sneaker culture for years, it’s very clear that they matter more than anyone else and the Superstar success is living proof. While the unisex appeal rings timely in an era where gender matters less in both life and fashion, ladies have been keeping the Superstar relevant with one glance at a college campus, music festival or happening downtown area proving such.
While the Superstar may not have a recognizable face like Kylie or Kanye directly attached to it, the former’s pull on modern female fashion and the latter’s attachment to adidas definitely have an impact on the cool cache of the Superstar. Yes, Kylie is on PUMA but her sportswear styling by Ian Connor makes the Superstar the best purchase this side of the Vans Old Skool to represent such modern steeze. And no, Kanye has never worn the Superstar, but his identity with adidas makes the model’s blunt branding much cooler than the muted Stan Smith or its familiar foe, the Air Force 1.
While artists being the new athletes may have been a bolder statement in 2012 than 2017, it saw its validation in many ways in 2016 by adidas taking the cool crown and the $80 silo from the ’80s taking the sales title.
Do you agree with our takeaways or are we way off? Let us know on social and in the comments section. Thanks in addition to Matt Powell and Quartz for doing the heavy-lifting on the research.
