Matt Powell’s monthly look behind the footwear industry’s sales numbers.

Thanks once again to our friend Matt Powell at SportsONESource for sharing with us his monthly look under the hood at sneaker sales numbers. Matt’s November 2010 footwear industry sales report follows below…

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Given that we were facing an unseasonably warm November last year, the low teens increase in dollar sales this year is quite impressive. Unit sales improved in the high singles, yielding a mid single digit increase in average selling price or $56.24.

The family channel grew in the low teens while full line and the mall improved in the high singles.

The men’s and women’s business grew in the low teens while the kids business improved in the low singles

The driving categories for November were Toning, with sales up nearly double, Outdoor, up more than 30%, Running up about 20% and Basketball improving about 10%.

Toning, after some bumps and bruises, posted some strong numbers, as we begin to lap the surge from last year. Dollars sales improved more than 85% while unit sales grew 1.5 times. Average selling price declined about 25% to $75, as retailers reacted to the over inventoried situation, even as customer demand remained high. Sales doubled in the family channel (which provides 55% of sales). Sales grew 3.5 times at full line, as they were late to the game last year. Toning at the mall was flat. Skechers (51% share) grew by about half while Reebok (37% share) doubled. New Balance achieved 6% share in Toning and Avia 3.5%

While it will take some time for the Toning inventory levels to right size, it appears consumer demand remains robust.

Running slowed a little from its torrid Q3 pace, but still improved by 20%. Likely the seasonably cold weather this year versus a warm November last hurt the trend some. Three quarters of the increase in Running came from lightweight styles. Lightweight only represents 15% of the total running business. As brands and retailers ramp up, Lightweight will become a significant portion of the Running business and should be a catalyst for a strong 2011 in Athletic. Lightweight Running will easily exceed $1 billion in sales in 2010, and could go much higher depending on how quickly the market place reacts. Of course not all sales of Lightweight Running are accretive. We can expect to see some erosion of other Running categories. For instance we’ve already seen a flat lining of Motion Control and Cushion this year.

Nike had a 54% share in overall Running and a 69% share in Lightweight. Nike Running sales improved in the high teens. Asics lost 100 basis points in share as sales grew in the low teens. New Balance (8.7% share) saw nice growth. Adidas Running lost 100 basis points in share and sales declined in the mid singles. Puma Running grew more than a third. Saucony, Mizuno and Brooks all took share and posted strong gains. Reebok Running grew nearly six fold and now has a 4% share in Running. Reebok has a 19% share in Lightweight. K-Swiss is starting to make some noise in Running. Under Armour (0.7% share) saw Running sales decline by half.

The Outdoor category was quite strong with sales growing more than 30%. This again was likely a function of weather. All major outdoor brands posted increases

November is a critical month for the Basketball business as school players get back on the court. Basketball sales grew in the low teens for November driven by player endorsed shoes and by pricepoint styles. Jordan (50% share) sales were flat on mixed releases. Nike (38% share) sales grew more than 25% on pricepoint styles and strong player endorsed offerings. Reebok, Adidas and And1 basketball all grew about a third. Under Armour achieved a 0.5% market share in Basketball for the month.

I’m not seeing any return to Basketball as a fashion silhouette, but it is clear that there is a business at key times of the year.

The Lifestyle Fashion Athletic category declined again in the mid teens. While there are some items that are working, the overall category remains in a funk. All major brands posted sales declines.

Classics declined in the low teens. Adidas Classics were flat and New Balance grew sharply while all other brands declined.

Skate sales dropped in the high teens with every major brand except Vans posting declines.

Training cooled off and only achieved a mid single digit increase. New Balance Training grew in the high teens while Nike Training grew in the mid singles. The early reaction to Nike’s Training response to Toning appeared tepid at best.

By brand, Nike (30% share) had a high single digit increase on strong Lightweight Running and Basketball which offset a lack of Toning strategy and weak casual sales. Jordan (8.2% share) had a slight decline on mixed releases. Converse sales also declined.

Skechers (5.9%) and Asics (4.5%) saw sales grow about 10%, while New Balance (6.2%) put up another nice month.

Adidas (4.8%) sales grew for the fourth month in a row, up mid singles. Reebok (4.4% share) grew by half. Puma sales were up in the high singles.

The core Running brands, Saucony, Mizuno and Brooks all had robust increases.

Crocs sales grew about 25%, while Under Armour declined by 30%.

-Matt Powell