The striking difference between the top brands here and in the US
The Comrades shoe count held no surprises as it is almost identical to the Two Oceans count earlier this year.
However, the major point of interest is comparing the market shares of the running shoes brands in South Africa and the USA.
Recently released figures from a leading franchise group of 300 specialist running shops in the USA indicate a continued dominance of Brooks (23%) with the fast-growing popularity of Hoka now at 22%. Asics is also strong, but Nike hardly feature at 3% and Adidas do not feature at all in the top 10 brands.
The continued popularity of Asics in SA is due not only to the quality of the range of shoes but to their professional attitude to the specialist running shops. The relatively high counts of Adidas and Nike on the other hand, is due more to heavy sponsorship programmes, the visibility of the brands in other sports, especially soccer, and to the availability of lower priced footwear in their outlet stores.
While Brooks and Hoka must surely gain some momentum in SA, newcomers to the running game face an uphill battle to break into this highly competitive market.
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