This article on sportswear brands and Gen Z is part of our Vogue Business Membership package. To enjoy unlimited access to Member-only reporting and insights, our NFT Tracker, Beauty Trend Tracker and TikTok Trend Tracker, weekly Technology, Beauty and Sustainability Edits and exclusive event invitations, sign up for Membership here.
Sportswear brands have achieved what many in the fashion world can’t manage: unwavering loyalty from Gen Z consumers.
A year packed with high-profile sporting events was always going to give sportswear a leg-up, and positioning yourself at the centre of multiple global spectacles is a fairly effective marketing technique. But beyond the summer of sport, there are some evergreen lessons that other sectors could learn from the brands dressing the world’s top athletes.
A recent report from research firm Bernstein, based on a survey of 3,500 US consumers, found that only 32 per cent of Gen Zs care about brand when purchasing non-sportswear apparel or footwear. “But in sportswear, brands still matter,” says Aneesha Sherman, VP of US apparel at Bernstein. “We’ve done this survey every year since 2019, and this finding just keeps emerging more and more.”
“We’re living in an athleisure world,” says Matt Powell, senior advisor at US-based consultancy BCE. These days, you can wear high-performance running shoes and moisture-wicking activewear to the gym, the bar and your office — a cultural shift that’s represented in the numbers. From 2013 to 2023, the value of the global sportswear market swelled from $269 billion to $395 billion, according to Euromonitor. The sector could grow to $544 billion by 2028, it predicts, as Gen Z’s purchasing power increases.
Newer brands like Alo, On Running, Hoka and Vuori are quickly gaining a larger share of this market by focusing just as much on lifestyle as their technical credentials. These days, “consumers don’t care what [a shoe’s] midsole is made of”, says Sherman. “They want [products] to feel good and look good.”
Mind you, Bernstein’s study shows that Gen Z prioritise price above brand in every other sector — and there are just as many cheaper lookalikes in sportswear as there are in, say, streetwear or luxury. So why are younger shoppers sticking to the big-name brands in this space?
Perceptions of value
Gen Z consumers from youth marketing agency Archrival’s Gen Z insight network say that loyalty to certain sportswear labels partly comes down to a perception of higher quality and durability. Case in point: Nike — which topped the charts for performance and quality among sportswear brands in Bernstein’s study — consistently outperforms its rivals in terms of annual sales. Last year, the company made more than double the revenue of its closest competitor ($51.5 billion versus Adidas’s $23 billion).
“We’re willing to splurge more in sportswear because of the longevity; if you’re buying something from Nike, you know it’s going to be worth it,” says Kassydi Rone, 21, a senior at the University of Southern California. “With other sectors, it’s like, ‘Do I want to spend $200 on this sweatshirt, or can I get something from Amazon and it’ll feel like similar quality?’”
Katie Hayes, 21, a senior at the University of Florida, suggests that playing the durability angle could help non-sportswear brands recapture some loyalty. She points to the popularity of Patagonia among her peers, an outdoors brand known for its performance apparel. “Seeing products being branded as ‘built to last’ has the potential to reach the largest audience,” she says.
In the midst of a cost of living crisis, value for money is crucial — whether that value represents durability, or what you personally get out of a product.
“You can’t dismiss the economic reality that Gen Z is living through,” says Kian Bakhtiari, founder of Gen Z consultancy The People. “If, before, you could be all branded out, now you have to make an intentional choice about the statement pieces you build your look around. With trainers, people know what brand you’re wearing, but if you’re wearing a top from, say, Shein, nobody’s going to know.”
Proving Bakhtiari’s point, Bernstein’s research found that Gen Zs are the most willing to pay north of $250 for a single pair of sneakers, despite earning less than older generations.
Baked-in emotional connection
Sportswear brands are also benefiting from Gen Z’s increased focus on health and wellness, and changing attitudes towards sport itself — a finding reflected in a new report from strategic foresight consultancy The Future Laboratory.
“Traditionally, sports brands were about elitism and performance, but we’ve seen a shift towards sport being more about participation and enjoyment,” says Savannah Scott, trends analyst and art director at The Future Laboratory. “Now, these brands are vehicles for Gen Zs to explore their hobbies and their lifestyles, instead of it just being about materiality and transactional purchases.”
This allows sportswear companies to enjoy something many others don’t: a baked-in emotional connection between consumers and the brands that enable them to pursue their passions. “The big takeaway for brands is: how can you replicate that model of support and values beyond your storefront and product offering?” says Scott. “Sportswear brands might do it with a community running club, or Selfridges did it really well with their therapeutic pop-up.”
Bakhtiari points out another learning here: “Focus on a niche community with a passion that’s already connected to your brand, and build from there. Because, from that niche, you can build mass appeal.” Salomon is a key example, a hiking brand fully co-opted by the fashion world. The same can be said for Supreme and Palace in the world of skateboarding, or Dickies and Carharrtt in the workwear space. Though it’s not easy to reverse-engineer this kind of community, with consumers smart enough to spot any insincere attempts.
Sherman predicts that, while other sectors may see more interest from Gen Z as they age up and as their purchasing power increases, sportswear will continue to be more resilient than any other clothing category. “It’s gaining share from other premium products,” she says. “There will always be that wallet, but now it’s shifting over to sportswear.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
