New Balance Takes Down Nike

In the ever-changing athletic shoe market a recent change in leading categories has begun to shake up the norm. Not until recently has the casual, low performance or leisure athletic shoes category been such a successful business. Before recent times, you wouldn't dare sport a pair of any kind of sneakers with dress pants, a blazer or tie. Now issues of GQ recommend a stylish pair of sneakers to go with just about anything. Justin Timberlake, (pictured below) one of the biggest style icons of the past decade, is a large advocate of this dress casual/sneaker trend. This market of stylish sneakers are creating major buzz in the industry. According to research results pictured below, the low performance category is second only to running, and growing fast.

Many clothing companies have jumped on the band wagon, making their own shoes to accompany their designer jeans and clothing. High-end Denim focused clothing companies like Diesel and True Religion have experienced great success since introducing their footwear lines. What used to be a primarily athletic shoe company, Puma has done a great job adapting to the new focus on style in footwear. On their website they have 3 categories, SPORT, SPORT FASHION and SPORT LIFESTYLE. Sport includes football, running, golf, motorsport, women and cricket; Sport Fashion includes different lines within the sport fashion line such as, The black label, Alexander McQueen, Mihara and Rudolf Dassler, which are designed by various fashion designers; Sport Lifestyle is made up of eyewear and fragrances. Based on the look and feel of the website along with the advertising, Puma has almost completely dedicated themselves to fashion. Even their "regular" running shoes are far more stylish than their competitors. In the Puma stores you can even purchase designer jeans! Puma teamed up with a Japanese Denim