This is where the top sportswear brands come in to offer customers what they want: fashionable, comfortable, durable, and ideal sports clothing. These remarkable brands have achieved such success that their names have become commonly used titles among customers. Every person today knows about Nike and Adidas since they are everywhere, including giant malls, stores, shops, and retail markets.
The purpose of this blog is to shed light on the brands that specialize in sports apparel and give an overview of their expertise. Moreover, the blog discusses the role of a skilled sportswear manufacturer in catering to startups and the renowned brands mentioned in this piece of text.
A Shift Towards Sportswear: Global Market Value
Sports have always been a great part of our lives. If we go back in time, Olympia, Greece organized the games from 776 BC through 393 AD. After more than 1500 years, the Olympics began to showcase and demonstrate various sporting events and games in different parts of the world. Sports became more popular.
Today, we witness sports as an essential aspect of daily life in terms of fitness, entertainment and fashion. Sportswear is a hyped clothing style because it represents physical strength as well as style.
The popularity of sports clothing can be judged by looking at its global market value. The global sportswear market was estimated at around $200 billion and it was anticipated to cross even $350 billion by 2032. North America alone is gaining 45 percent of sportswear market revenues globally.
Renowned Sportswear Brands and Their Expertise
Popular sportswear brands are the leading entities in the apparel industry today since they deal in performance clothing and sports gear that help athletes and fitness lovers up their game. Here are seven known brands that have introduced and popularized the best sports apparel products in both the fashion and sports clothing industries.
1. Nike
Nike is an American sportswear brand famous for its sneakers around the globe. It is considered the largest seller of sports footwear and a reputed manufacturer of sports gear in the world. The brand’s other expertise is in designing, sales, marketing, manufacturing, footwear, sports equipment, accessories, and several other related services.
According to Nike’s revenue analysis for 2023, the brand’s global revenue amounted to about $51.22 billion.
The brand was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight as Blue Ribbon Sports on January 25, 1964. Its headquarters are located in Beaverton, Oregon. The sub-brands under Nike are Nike Dunk, Nike CR7, Air Jordan Brand, Nike Pro, etc.
2. Converse
Marquis Mills Converse Founded the brand in 1908 but its name was originally Converse Rubber Shoe Company. Nike is the owner of this converse but it works as a separate brand. Its headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
The brand is known for its remarkable sneakers and shoe designs that are popular across the USA. Converse’s business model is based on the marketing, distribution and licensing of mostly footwear, clothing items, and accessories.
The market value of Converse is pretty big just like Nike’s. Reportedly, the brand owns 80% of the entire sneaker industry. It generated more than $2.4 billion in 2023.
3. Adidas
Adidas is a German company founded by Adolf Dassler in 1924, and its headquarters are located in Herzogenaurach, Germany. The brand is one of the top leading sportswear brands, the second-largest sportswear manufacturing hub in the world, and the largest sports apparel brand in Europe.
The AG revenue report for Adidas 2023 revealed revenue for twelve months (March 31, 2023) valued at $23.429 billion.
It holds a great category of products for various sports, including snow sports, football, tennis, hockey, etc. Adidas offers a great line of apparel items like hoodies, pants, t-shirts, leggings, and jackets. In terms of footwear, it offers casual footwear, sneakers, and running shoes.
Its sports gear category includes cricket bats and footballs. The accessories catalog has baseball headwear, socks, perfumes, eye products, watches, etc.
4. Under Armour
Under Armour is an American company located in Baltimore City, Maryland, established by Kelvin Plank in 1996. It deals in sports footwear, casual clothing, and footwear. The brand offers a good variety of products, including sports shoes, headwear, protective gear, gloves, athletic and regular bags, sports bras, leggings, pants, shorts, jackets, hoodies, and t-shirts.
The brand is also a manufacturer of athletic uniforms for a multitude of sports, such as basketball, soccer, and American football. The global net sales and revenue of Under Armour amounted to approximately $5.9 billion on March 31, 2023 (the financial year).
5. Columbia Sportswear
The American-based Columbia Sportswear was founded in 1938 and is situated in Oregon, USA. The brand is a renowned jacket brand known for its waterproof and breathable apparel. Its jackets are famous globally due to the linen and shell fabrics.
Columbia Sportswear’s net sales growth has been $3.57 to $3.67 billion, compared to 2022.
The brand manages the manufacturing and supply of footwear and high-quality apparel products, including outerwear, footwear, sportswear, ski apparel, snow boots specifically for snowy places, camping gear, outerwear accessories, and headgear.
6. Reebok
Jeff Foster and Joe Foster founded Reebbok in 1958. It is located in Boston, U.S. Interestingly, this brand is an outcome of Authentic Brands Group, the parent company. Its global sportswear revenue was $1.8 billion in 2022.
A fun fact about Reebok is that two globally popular celebrities, Rihanna and Cardi B, are associated with the brand.
This brand is a designer, manufacturer, and supplier of various apparel, including fitness, running, CrossFit, and athletic clothing. Its footwear comes in different styles, labels, and designs such as the Reebok Pump, Reebok Freestyle, and Beatnik.
7. New Balance
The New Balance sportswear brand was founded by William J. Riley in 1096. It is an American company with annual revenue of $4.5 billion in 2022. Its headquarters are situated in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. The brand focuses on sports footwear, including shoes, casual sneakers, and running sneakers.
The brand’s other specializations include revitalized models, exclusive contemporary designs, innovative fashion, sponsorship offers, and associations with Patta, Joe Freshgoods, and Teddy Santis.
8. The North Face
The North Face is an American company that specializes in outdoor recreation products. It was founded by Tompkins and his wife, Susie Tompkins, in 1966. The company is known for producing footwear, other outdoor clothes, and equipment. It is generally popular for performance gear used for climbing and backpacking.
The internationally operating company managing the footwear and lifestyle clothing industries, VF Corporation, has active segment revenues valued at $4.9 billion globally. The VF Group owns more than 30 brands, including the North Face.
9. Russell Athletic
Russell Athletic is one of the leading sportswear brands in the USA known for high-quality athletic offerings. Benjamin Russel led the foundation of this company in 1902. Its headquarter is in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. Its parent company is Fruit of the Loom.
Russell Athletic is popular for creating sports uniforms for various teams playing softball, volleyball, basketball, American football, and baseball. The athletic clothes variety is impressive as it caters to both men and women.
You can get all the styles you want. This brand also offers casual wear to fashion enthusiasts. The products include sweatshirts, sweatpants, underwear, hoodies, jackets, and shorts. The other popular products of Russell Athletic brand are:
- Dri-Power Fleece Crew Sweatshirt for men.
- Dri-Power Closed-Bottom Fleece Sweatpants for men.
- Dri-Power Lightweight Performance Sweatshirt for women.
The company has multiple outlets and a massive number of employees. Due to the products’ prominent recognition, the company makes good revenue. According to reports, Russel Athletic peak revenue was $1.4B in 2023.
10. Oakley, Inc
im Jannard founded Oakley Inc in 1975 as a sunglasses brand. Luxottica is its parent company based in California. The brand innovated itself over the time and launched new categories including backpacks, apparel, and other clothing categories.
The brand specializes in manufacturing accessories and clothes for diverse sports including snow sports, golf, cycling, baseball, and football. Oakley’s promising apparel offering include:
- FLIGHT JACKET
- HOODIE
- CARGO SHORTS
The brand has been successful in reaching revenue milestones. The global net revenue in 2023 was valued at USD $234.2 million.
11. FP Movement (Free People)
Dick Hayne founded Urban Outfitters, the parent company of Free People, in 1984. Free people is a recognized brand in the USA that deals in women’s apparel exclusively. This brand supplies various women’s clothing that includes active lifestyle products, skincare, cosmetics, oral care supplements and other wellness and beauty products. The popular clothing items include intimates, swimwear, shoes and accessories.
FP Movement is a sub-brand of Free People that deals in athletic wear, athleisure, and other apparel products such as running outfits, yoga clothes, jumpsuits, unitards, and jackets for the women who like to stay fit.
Moreover, the outdoor clothing it provides people includes surf suits, hiking gear, camping clothes and accessories, and gym clothes.
12. Outdoor Voices
Tyler Haney Founded Outdoor Voices 2013, which makes it relatively a new brand in the clothing industry. This brand is popular for its high-quality fashion activewear and athletic apparel. Outdoor voices sells most of its products on its online outlets.
The famous product types include winter activewear, summer clothes, men’s and women’s shorts, workout apparel, shorts, bras, leggings, t-shirts, and many more.
As for the high revenue value, the company generated revenue of $2,623,837 in March 2024.
13. Patagonia
Patagonia, Inc. was founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973. It is an activewear company popular for its outdoor gear, performance clothing, and sustainability factors. It employs recycled fabric or organic cotton to keep the manufacturing operations sustainable.
Patagonia is more focused towards supplying and distributing clothes that are practical and functional. For example adjustable components, strategically built pockets, purpose driven apparel, durable seams, and much more.
Moreover, it designs apparel according to different physiques and preferences. The products include almost every outdoor high-impact clothes such as men and women’s gears, tees, kids apparel, backpacks, and even books.
How Do You Start a Sportswear Brand?
In case you need to begin your own clothing business and want to know how to start a sportswear brand, this blog is the best way to understand the necessary steps. Launching a sportswear clothing line can help you evolve in the sports apparel industry and stand out.
You will have to have a great deal of knowledge of fabric and all the relevant steps involved in initiating the business idea.
Knowing the Fabrics for Sport Clothing
Understanding fabrics is very important in order to comprehend the mindset of customers. However, there is no need to worry about materials since this blog gives detailed information on the types of sportswear fabric. You will easily get an idea of which fabric is best for different types of sports clothes.
Why Should Brands Partner With Mega Sports Apparel For Sportswear Manufacturing?
Mega Sports Apparel is an excellent manufacturer of sports apparel, as it carries out the production process with great efficiency. Also, the main model of the business is based on helping startups start a clothing line and brands enhance their businesses.
We offer a great deal of customization options to transform products from scratch to perfection. Our fabric options are massive, since you need to choose the best material for your clothes. Other than that, we help our clients throughout the process, from design to delivery.
Conclusion
The sports industry has evolved a lot since the evolution of sports brands and their high-quality and fashionable apparel. Many renowned brands are currently leading the sports clothing industry as customers demand style along with performance.
Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and so many other brands have brought innovations to the industry by manufacturing and selling stylish, high-quality, trendy, and ideal sportswear and gear.
In case startups need to understand the necessary steps to begin a clothing line, they can have a look at the guide on starting a business or choose from the fabric options. Also, they can consult Mega Sports Apparel for further assistance in terms of launching a fully functional clothing brand.
