The rise of sports shoes, under analysis: are men giving up wearing classic shoes?

They have become essential in any wardrobe, especially the male. More than five years ago, sneakers or sports shoes jumped from the running tracks to events, work meetings or catwalks. In these years, sales have multiplied: the sports fashion giants already concentrate more than 50% of their sales on footwear.

But the pandemic came. In 2020, sneaker sales fell by 8.12%, to 106,749 million euros. The loss in market share, however, was one of the least negative developments in fashion sales as a whole.

In Spain, footwear led the falls in income, production and employment in 2020. It was the only subsector of the fashion industry that did not increase its production for a single month in 2020. While the rest of the sectors recovered as of June 2020, leather and footwear have remained at negative rates of around 30% each month.

If footwear sales decline as a whole, but sports 'pull' the business, will it be necessary to pivot towards the manufacture of sneakers? Or seen from another angle, will the manufacturers have to modify the design of the shoes so that it looks more like a sports shoe than the footwear of a lifetime? The most important thing about this possible transformation, however, is whether the consumer will support the trend.

"The pandemic was bad for the sector. By staying at home, you buy less clothes and fewer shoes. But the evolution in 2021 is different. We are improving a lot," explains Arcadio Cobo, CEO of the Zurbagos footwear company. Thanks to confinement, this businessman discovered the full potential of social networks, consolidating his e-commerce brand. "Until recently, I didn't pay much attention to the networks. But as a result of the pandemic, we began to publish more things on our Instagram account with the strategy of gaining consistency on social networks and addressing our audience much more directly. ".

In origin, the male footwear market is smaller than the female one. "You only need to open a man's and a woman's wardrobe. There are much more shoes in women's. The male market is smaller because men are less consumerists and when they do they prefer to wait for sales or sales times Women's purchases are more impulsive," says this businessman.

The rise of sports shoes in all areas is linked to a social change in values. Faced with the formal, naturalness is preferred. The consumer trusts what is close, natural and unpretentious, better if it also has an attractive design. Sport is also a value in itself: healthy competition, self-care and effort. All these attributes are found in a sneaker. "We live in more informal and comfortable environments. It depends on the sector, but companies are no longer so demanding regarding the look of employees. More informal outfits look good to show closeness to the client. In addition, a sports shoe has less maintenance. The shoe has to be cleaned almost every day.

For this businessman, the trend also extends to non-athletic footwear: "In my company, what is sold the most are Kiowa-type moccasins, sewn by hand, and boat shoes, a variant of moccasins."

For a few years, footwear brands have opted for ever more comfortable and flexible lasts, incorporating some of the characteristics of sports shoes, such as wider patterns, silicone insoles or air chambers between the inside and outside of the shoe. Will it go one step further? Are the shoes of a lifetime in danger of extinction? "We do the same production of sports shoes as shoes. It is true that some manufacturers are imitating the design of sports shoes in other lasts. But for me, it is not a strong trend. It is a fashion that will last a short time," explains the businessman .

The cause, according to Cobo, is the expiration of the design itself. "Let's not forget that we are talking about fashion. What is worn today is gone tomorrow. But, in addition, when we make a very strong implementation in a design, it normally does not last because it is very marked and goes out of style in a short time," he says. .

In his opinion, "a well-made shoe lasts a long time. I have models that have been on the market for several years." When we ask this manufacturer, belonging to a family of entrepreneurs in the sector (his sister is the influencer Nuria Cobo), if he thinks that sneakers or sports shoes will end up eradicating the shoe of a lifetime, his answer is forceful: "Not at all "The man who is elegant will always have two or three pairs of good shoes in his wardrobe. They last a lifetime and the quality can be seen from afar."

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