In 2023, Nike's global revenue amounted to about 51.22 billion U.S. dollars, which is an increase of approximately 4.5 billion compared to the previous financial year. Founded in January 1964, Nike has become the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment. As of 2023, the company employed over 83 thousand people worldwide.

Nike's sponsorships

The company sponsors many high-profile professional athletes, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Lebron James, and Rory Mcllroy to use their products and promote and advertise their technology and design. On top of that, Nike also manufactures and provides kits (uniforms) for a wide range of sports teams like Barcelona and Chelsea.

Popularity of Nike in Europe

While Nike is an American enterprise, its products are ubiquitous. A Statista survey conducted in Europe showed the overwhelming majority (approximately 95.5 percent) of online sports and outdoor goods shoppers in the United Kingdom and Germany recognized the Nike brand, at least by name. Furthermore, over 60 percent of these UK and German respondents stated they liked the brand.

In 2021, Under Armour invested nearly 650 million U.S. dollars in marketing activities, an increase of roughly 100 million from the previous year.

Under Armour keeps growing – inside and out

Under Armour is an American sporting goods manufacturer based in Baltimore, Maryland. The company has experienced substantial growth over the past five years, and according to the latest financial statements, Under Armour’s net revenue peaked at approximately 5.9 billion U.S. dollars in the fiscal year ended March 2023. This figure puts the company among the top athletic apparel brands worldwide, and even though Under Armour’s financial performance cannot compete with that of leading industry giants like Nike or Adidas, it is coming close to matching that of Puma, the third-largest seller of sports apparel, accessories, and footwear in the business.

The only way is through (advertising)

The global sportswear market is a highly lucrative and, therefore, also immensely competitive industry. In order to succeed, players such as Under Armour are increasingly focusing on marketing activities, especially brand deals and partnerships with high-profile athletes. One of the company’s most publicized cooperations started in 2016 when the company announced a global partnership with actor and former professional wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Under Armour’s all-star roster of spokespeople and brand ambassadors also features basketball star Stephen Curry, NFL heavyweight Tom Brady, and Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps.

The adidas Group incremented its marketing and point-of-sale expenses to nearly 2.53 billion euros in 2023. This represented a 8.5 percent increase in comparison to the previous year.

Adidas marketing spending

Included in the marketing expenditures of the adidas Group is both point-of-sale investments, covering in-store advertising and shop fittings, and marketing investments, which includes sponsorship contracts, media advertising, and events. In terms of how this translates to sales, in 2023, the sporting goods manufacturer saw its global sales reach to 21.4 billion euros. While it is a slight decline from the previous year, according to latest data, adida's brand value increased to by about a billion dollars in 2023.

The adidas Group business

The adidas Group is a German manufacturer of sporting goods headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria. The majority of their revenue is generated from the manufacture of shoes, followed by clothing then sporting accessories. Globally, adidas is the second-largest producer of sports footwear, behind Nike, but ahead of their German rival Puma – which was infamously founded by Rudolph Dassler, the brother of adidas founder Adolf Dassler, following a bitter family feud.

This timeline shows Nike's revenue worldwide from 2009 to 2023, by region. In the year ended May 31, 2023, Nike's North American revenue amounted to about 21.61 billion U.S. dollars. In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), the company generated nearly 13.5 billion U.S. dollars' worth of sales that year.

Nike

Nike, Inc. is a sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States that was founded in January 1964. The company's headquarters are located near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike is the world's leading supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and is also a major manufacturer of sports equipment.

Sports sponsorships

Given Nike's success, size, and popularity, it comes to no surprise that the company is actively involved in the world of sports sponsorships. In fact, Nike has become one of the most reputable athletic sponsors in the world over the years. Nike looks for and uses sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes, professional sports teams, and college athletic programs for the promotion of their products, technology, and design.

Adidas Group invested 688 million U.S. dollars in 2019 in promoting its products, representing an increase of some seven million compared to the previous year. The company has seen a steady growth in its advertising spending over five years between 2013 to 2017, and fairly rapid hike since then. Adidas Group’s sales and revenue The global sports and apparel industry is highly fragmented, with many brands competing. Even well-established brands have to work hard to maintain their share of the market, since it is highly competitive. Key players in the industry include Nike, Adidas and Puma.
In 2019, Adidas Group operated 1, 333 concept stores worldwide. The sporting goods company headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Germany, manufactures clothing as well as other products ranging from bags, shirts, watches and eyewear. In 2019, footwear made up more than half of net sales for Adidas Group, racing ahead of apparel and hardware. Although it is still behind Nike in the global market, Adidas’ footwear segment is growing steadily, with production oscillating around 400 million pairs in recent years. The company’s footwear revenue stood at close to 13 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, a bump of over two billion dollars from previous year. In general, Western Europe continues to be the market in which Adidas generates the largest share of its revenues.

The statistic shows the global revenues of the sporting goods companies Nike, adidas and Puma from 2006 to 2022. In 2022, the adidas Group generated over 22.5 billion euros in revenue.

The biggest apparel brand in the world

The global sports apparel market is highly fragmented, with basic discount brands to high-end fashion name brands competing for market position. U.S.-based Nike is the world’s leading brand in athletic footwear and apparel, and the world's most valuable clothing brand in general. Nike has a higher global revenue than its main competitors, adidas and Puma, put together. North America is a key market for Nike, as close to half of its global revenue is generated there each year. Much of Nike's success can be attributed to the brand’s marketing campaign as well as sponsorship agreements with celebrity athletes and professional sports teams.

adidas and Puma

adidas and Puma used to be one company named Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, established by two brothers, Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. After a disagreement between the two brothers, the company split, creating the two widely known sporting brands, Adidas and Puma. Adidas is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, just behind Nike, with a brand value of approximately 14.6 billion U.S. dollars. Just as with Nike, footwear is the most important category for adidas. In 2022, over 50 percent of the adidas Group's net sales were generated by the footwear category.

Puma, also one of the globe's leading sporting goods brand, has the long-term mission of becoming the most desirable sport lifestyle company in the world. Europe and the Americas are the most profitable markets for Puma, as these regions accounted for about 80 percent of Puma’s consolidated sales in 2022. Describing itself as the 'blue mountains', Puma has been trying to incorporate more edge, creativity, and uniqueness into their designs with their collaborations with celebrities and fashion designers. This is a common strategy amongst these leading sports brands, as they aim to maintain their share of the market by broadening their product lines.

The statistic depicts the global revenue of Nike, adidas, and Puma from their respective footwear segments from 2010 to 2022. In 2022, adidas' revenue from footwear amounted to more than 13 billion U.S. dollars.

The three major athletic footwear giants

Nike is the market leader in the global sports footwear industry, generating revenues of just over 29 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. This figure is larger than the combined footwear revenues of its two closest rivals, adidas and Puma. Of Nike’s footwear revenue in 2022, over seven billion dollars was generated in the Europe, Middle East & Africa region (or EMEA) and a further four billion U.S. dollars came from the emerging markets of Asia Pacific and Latin America. North America remained the biggest regional market for Nike as footwear sales there reached over 12 billion U.S. dollars that year. In comparison, sales of Nike apparel in North America amounted to close to five and a half billion U.S. dollars, while equipment sales reached some 633 million U.S. dollars.

Although the company remains behind Nike on the global market, adidas is still, without question, one of the world's largest players. In 2022, the company's athletic footwear division produced approximately 420 million pairs of shoes. In 2019, adidas made about 450 million pairs, making it the company's highest figure to date. Being a global enterprise, adidas generates revenue in many places, however, the EMEA region is the market in which adidas generates its largest share of income. This is then followed by North America and Greater China, respectively.

Although Nike and adidas are consistently at the very top of the list, Puma’s footwear sales increased considerably over the years and especially in 2021 and 2022. The company's sales had started declining from 2012 on, but this changed for the better in 2015. Over the years, Puma's apparel sales have grown tremendously, reaching some 2.9 billion euros in 2022. That said, its footwear segment remains the company’s biggest earner.

This statistic depicts the revenue of Nike's affiliate brand, Converse, worldwide from the fiscal years of 2010 to 2023. In the year ended May 31, 2023, the global revenue of Converse amounted to about 2.43 billion U.S. dollars.

Converse

In 1908, Converse specialized as a rubber shoe company which manufactured galoshes. By 1920, the company had switched to manufacturing sneakers and renamed their canvas basketball sneaker, the "All Star". Since then the company has been a staple in the footwear sector, and as of 2023, Nike runs 82 Converse stores in the United States. These shoes are not just made to sink jump shots anymore, as consumers from all different walks of life wear them today.

Converse is owned by sports apparel manufacturer Nike Incorporated, who in the financial year of 2023, generated a global revenue of approximately 51.2 billion U.S. dollars. Despite Converse generating around 2.43 billion U.S. dollars in revenue that year, they continue to be one of the more popular brands of sneakers in the world.

During the year ended 31 July, 2022, the fitness apparel and accessories company known as Gymshark generated a turnover of approximately 349 million British pounds. Over the past few financial years, the UK-based company's annual revenue and gross profit have advanced considerably and consistently, except during its latest financial year.

Popular sportswear brands in the UK

In 2021, the most popular sports clothing brands in the United Kingdom were by far Nike and adidas. That year, some 4.95 million UK consumers had purchased Nike apparel, while roughly 4.86 million had bought adidas clothing. Puma, which ranked third, accounted for a total of roughly 1.55 million customers during the measured 12-month period.

UK sporting goods trade

In 2022, nearly 499 million British pounds' worth of sporting goods were exported from the United Kingdom to other countries around the globe. Most of the goods were sent to countries in the European Union, while some 146 million British pounds’ worth of goods went to destinations outside of the EU. With an import value of nearly one and a half billion British pounds, the UK imports far more sporting goods than it exports.