Athletic Will Remain The Strongest Footwear Trend In 2016

Citi analyst Corinna Van der Ghinst recently met with Shoe Carnival, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL) management at the Citi Retail Seminar to discuss the latest trends in footwear. According to Van der Ghinst, the athletic segment is as strong as ever.

Shoe Carnival sees strong growth across the boards in athletic footwear in 2016, led by golden standard Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE). Contrary to recent industry commentary from other sources, Shoe Carnival management reports strong growth in canvas sneaker silhouette, including Nike’s Converse and VF Corp (NYSE: VFC)’s Vans. In addition, they see sales growth in retro/classics led by adidas AG (ADR) (OTC: ADDYY) and Puma SE NPV (OTC: PMMAF).

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Looking ahead, Shoe Carnival sees the Summer Olympics as a major shot in the arm for the athletic segment and should provide positive year-over-year comps. The retailer also anticipates that the Rio Olympics taking place just one hour ahead of the Eastern time zone in the U.S. will help with American engagement.

Shoe Carnival also reports that dress shoes and non-athletic casual remain the two weakest segments.

Management anticipates that traffic in the fall will continue to decline, but intents to combat the trend by offering compelling deals and leveraging Shoe Carnival’s loyalty program.

In the past year, Shoe Carnival’s stock is down 13.4 percent.

Disclosure: the author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.