Retro Sneakers Are The Fastest Growing Footwear Category

Investors who are assuming that basketball shoes are the fastest growing footwear category need to take a closer look at the sector, at least according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Wall Street Journal, reissued or "heritage" shoes outpaced all other shoe categories last year, as sales grew more than 50 percent and accounted for 20 percent of the $17.2 billion U.S. athletic footwear market.

Shoemakers, such as adidas AG (ADR) (OTC: ADDYY), are looking to cash in. The world's second-largest sportswear maker after Nike Inc (NYSE: NKE) is looking to sell tennis and basketball shoes dating back to the 1960s.

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The Wall Street Journal even suggested that Nike is trailing Adidas in the hot category, as adidas' sneakers date back to when Baby Boomers were babies. For example, Stan Smith was a tennis icon back in the 1970s and sported adidas' line of tennis shoes. Last year, adidas sold 8 million pairs of its retro Stan Smiths, compared to around 50 million pairs sold in the past half-century.

Naturally, Nike is fighting hard and boasts perhaps the most iconic athlete in history in its roster — Michael Jordan who retired from the NBA for good in 1998, but sales of Nike's Air Max and Air Jordan are still strong nearly 20 years later.

Nike also owns Converse's Chuck Taylor All-Stars, which were introduced to the market 100 years ago.