Our favorite market Sneakerologist, Matt Powell of SportsONESource, is back with his monthly look under the hood of the footwear industry. Covering the September 2010 period, Running continues to be a dominant industry theme with sales growing by more than a third for the month and half of the growth coming from the barefoot/minimalist inspired movement categorized as “Lightweight Running”. Powell tells us this sub-set designation is defined by shoes that weigh 10 ounces or less in a men’s size 9. Additional notes include returning top sellers in the Nike Air Force 1, Air Jordan IX Retro and Air Max 95 among others, along with a recent improvement in overall industry Basketball sales. Continue reading for Matt Powell’s complete Footwear Industry Sales Report: September 2010.

September was the best month for Sport Footwear since the beginning of the recession. Dollar sales advanced in the mid teens while units grew in the high singles yielding a mid single digit increase in average selling price to $54.68

The Mall had the best month of all channels with sales up in the teens followed closely by family, as Toning started up again. Full Line sporting goods had a solid September.

Men’s Footwear grew in the mid teens while kids grew in the mid singles. Women’s sales advanced more than 20%. Nike women’s sales only grew 10% as share shrunk nearly 300 basis points

Top sellers were Air Force 1 mid and low, Jordan 9, Air Max 95, Shox Turbo 11+, Reebok ReInspire and Skechers original Shape Ups.

The increases for the month came primarily from Toning and from Running. After the seasonal summer slowdown, Toning kicked back in, as expected. Toning returned to its previous contribution percentage of 5.5% and in the last two weeks exceeded that ratio, signaling a promising holiday season. Average selling price for Toning declined in the mid singles when comparing September to the full year. It appears that reports of rampant promotion were way overblown. Sales of Toning remain on track to be well over $1 billion.

Skechers had a 55% share in Toning for September. Reebok had a 34% share, New Balance 5% and Avia 3%.

Running had a very strong September, with sale growing more than a third, with half the growth coming from lightweight. Nike has a 75% share in lightweight Running, followed by Reebok at 14%. Nike Running grew more than third as share held steady to about 59%. Asics Running improved in the high teens but share dropped 200 basis points to 11.9%. Only Adidas (down mid singles) and Under Armour (down -30%) posted decline in Running. The core Running brands (Saucony, Mizuno and Brooks) all had major growth. Puma Running grew more than double. Reebok grew nearly 9 times and now has a 3.5% share in Running. K-Swiss Running seems to have found a home in mid market.

Basketball had a good September after a very sketchy summer. Sales improved more than 20%. Jordan bounced back after posting a big decline in Q2 with a high teens growth. Nike Brand basketball grew by half on pricepoint styles like Overplay ($45), Baseline ($49) Flight Scorer ($35) and Turnaround ($52). Adidas basketball declined in the mid teens while And1 grew more than 25%.

Casual Footwear declined in the high singles for September. Skechers trend improved to a low single digit decline, its best month in two years. Nike and Reebok Casual sales dropped in the mid teens. Adidas and Converse Casual were basically flat for the month. Puma Casual sales grew in the high singles.

Skate sales declined in the high teens again with only Vans showing a positive result.

Training sales has a low teens increase, as pricepoint white footcovering ruled the day. Nike (51% share) and New Balance (33%) both had mid teens increases.

Cleated sales grew in the High singles as Nike (58% share) grew in the mid teens, Adidas (23%) in the high singles and Under Armour (9%) declined in the low teens.

Sandals grew in the mid teens while outdoor advanced in the high singles.

By brand, Brand Nike sales grew in the high teens and share expanded 100 basis points to 36.5%. Strong Running, and Pricepoint basketball and training offset a lack of Toning strategy and weakness in the casual market. Jordan sales grew in the mid teens and share stayed about the same at 10.1%. Converse sales declined again on weak basketball and Chuck Taylor.

Skechers sales grew more than a third and share expended 100 basis points to 6%. Reebok sales doubled and share hit 4.3%. Adidas posted a small increase but share shrank to 5.2%. New Balance again had a solid month, as share grew to 5.9%.

The Running brands all had nice growth in September. Asics, Saucony, Brooks and Mizuno all grew very nicely. Running is in a very good place right now.

Crocs grew nearly 40%. Under Armour Footwear sales declined -20%.

-Matt Powell