What 200 Brands Breaking Records Tells Us About 2026
And who didn't make the list...
This is Part 2 of my analysis of StockX’s 2025 Big Facts Report. Read Part 1 here for the sneaker breakdown.
Nearly 200 brands set new all-time annual sales records on StockX in 2025. Two hundred. That’s not a typo... that’s a fundamental shift in how culture moves.
StockX CEO Greg Schwartz put it perfectly: “The brands that will win are those that understand scarcity, storytelling, and community — not just scale.”
In Part 1, I broke down the sneaker winners and losers. Today, I want to show you what the broader data reveals about where culture is actually moving in 2026... and what the brands missing from this report tell us about who’s next to fall.
The Absent Players… And What Their Silence Says
You know what’s more telling than who made StockX’s top performers list? Who didn’t.
Under Armour’s absence from meaningful conversation in this data isn’t surprising. I wrote about how they wasted Stephen Curry, the greatest shooter who ever lived, four championships, genuine cultural phenomenon, and somehow made him uncool.
The resale market is ruthlessly honest. It doesn’t care about press releases or marketing budgets. It cares about desire.
And nobody desired Curry Brand product enough to pay over retail for it.
That’s not Curry’s fault. That’s what happens when a brand that doesn’t understand sneaker culture tries to compete with brands built on it. You can’t fake authenticity. The market sees through it every time.
But Under Armour isn’t alone in their struggle. Look at what’s not growing in this data... traditional basketball signature shoes from anyone not named LeBron or Giannis. Cade Cunningham’s Nike deal might be the latest example of this trap. Great player, wrong market (Detroit gets no media love), same old playbook.
The signature shoe model that built Nike’s empire? It’s not working the way it used to. And the StockX data proves it.
Beyond Sneakers: What Other Categories Tell Us About the Future
The StockX report covers more than just sneakers, and some of these trends have real implications for how sneaker brands should think about product strategy.
The Pop Mart Lesson: Blind Box Culture
Pop Mart overtook LEGO as the top-traded collectibles brand on StockX in 2025, “reflecting sustained enthusiasm for ‘kidult’ culture.”
Why does this matter for sneakers? Because Pop Mart’s entire model is built on blind boxes… you don’t know exactly what you’re getting until you open it. The mystery, the surprise, the thrill of discovery... that’s what drives demand.
Now think about sneaker releases. What if more brands started experimenting with “blind box” style drops? You know the silhouette, you know the quality, but the exact colorway is a surprise. Or mystery boxes with exclusive colorways that aren’t revealed until delivery.
Some brands, like KITH, have already been playing with this concept in limited ways. But Pop Mart dethroning LEGO suggests there’s a massive appetite for this kind of discovery-driven collecting. The secondary market rewards scarcity and surprise. Maybe it’s time for sneaker brands to learn more from collectibles.
Apparel Tells the Same Story
The apparel data reinforces everything we’re seeing in sneakers. Uniqlo was the #1 fastest-growing apparel brand (up 667%) thanks to strategic collaborations with Needles and KAWS. SKIMS hit #3 (up 196%) with limited releases and partnerships with The North Face and Dolce & Gabbana.
Fear of God maintained #1 for the fourth consecutive year in best-selling apparel. Supreme, Nike, Yeezy, and BAPE rounded out the top five.
What do all these brands have in common with the winning sneaker brands? Scarcity. Storytelling. Community. Limited releases that make people want to be part of something, not just buy something.
adidas saw 49% apparel growth from their Oasis collaboration and limited-edition jerseys. Again… strategic, limited, culturally relevant collaborations. Not endless drops of the same basic gear.
The lesson translates directly to sneakers: collaboration overload dilutes value, but the right collaboration at the right time with the right scarcity can drive massive growth.
So if scarcity, storytelling, and community define 2025's winners... what does StockX think is coming in 2026?
StockX’s 2026 Predictions… And My Takes
StockX made several predictions for 2026. Here’s what they think is coming, and what I think about their takes.
The World Cup Effect
StockX says: “The 2026 FIFA World Cup will accelerate soccer’s influence in U.S. fashion, from retro cleats reimagined as lifestyle footwear to deeper collaborations between clubs and streetwear brands.”
My take: They’re right, and Nike better not screw this up like they did with the Total90 trademark.
The World Cup is the single biggest global sporting event. It’s happening in North America for the first time since 1994. Soccer culture has been growing in the US for years, but this will be the tipping point.
Brands that understand football/soccer culture will win. Brands that try to fake it will get exposed immediately. adidas has a natural advantage here because they’ve been in football for decades. Nike has the resources but they’ll need to move fast.
The collaboration between football clubs and streetwear brands is already happening—Palace has been working with clubs for years. But 2026 will accelerate this massively.
Expect retro cleats to become lifestyle shoes (we’re already seeing this). Expect jersey culture to explode beyond what it already is. Expect international brands that Americans don’t know yet to suddenly matter.
Bad Bunny’s Signature Year
StockX says: Bad Bunny is “poised for a defining year, with a highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance and a first fully original adidas signature sneaker slated for 2026.”
My take: Bad Bunny is the most important artist-athlete partnership adidas has had since Kanye.
His Super Bowl halftime show will be seen by 100+ million people. His signature sneaker with adidas will be his first fully original design, not just a collaboration on an existing model.
If adidas executes this right… and that’s a big if… they could finally have an answer to Nike’s Travis Scott partnership. Bad Bunny has genuine global cultural influence, especially in Latin America and with young audiences.
The key will be making sure the shoes are actually good, not just trading on his name. Under Armour learned that lesson the hard way with Curry.
Nike’s “Renewed Momentum”
StockX says: “Nike enters 2026 with renewed momentum fueled by a strong Jordan Brand and continued dominance in categories like performance basketball. Ongoing investments in innovation and new product development — such as the Nike Mind 001 — will further growth.”
My take: I want to believe this. But “renewed momentum” when your growth came from a recovery slide… the Rejuven8, which grew 5,811% in the non-sneaker footwear category (although that percentage is a bit misleading considering it’s a new silhouette and it’s available nearly everywhere at a discount now), and marginally higher prices on retros isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement.
Jordan Brand is strong because it’s the one part of Nike that never forgot the formula: balancing limited releases and cultural credibility. Still off from its popularity peak from years back, but worth acknowledging here.
The Nike Mind is interesting. I wrote about Nike’s history of weird innovation, and the Mind fits that tradition. It’s got buzz, but one weird product doesn’t fix systemic problems.
Elliott Hill has the World Cup and Olympics in 2026. He has Jordan Brand operating well. He has the infrastructure and resources. The question is whether he can rebuild the culture fast enough to capitalize on these opportunities.
StockX’s prediction assumes he can. I’d say… I’m skeptically hopeful.
What This Data Actually Means
Let me connect the dots that most people miss.
200 Brands Hit All-Time Sales Records
That’s the headline that matters most. Not which specific brands are #1 or #2. The fact that 200 different brands, from Nike to Mizuno to Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, all had their best year ever on StockX.
That tells you the secondary market isn’t a zero-sum game where Nike winning means everyone else loses. It’s an expanding universe where multiple brands can thrive simultaneously if they understand the formula.
Scarcity. Storytelling. Community.
The brands growing fastest aren’t the ones with the biggest marketing budgets. They’re the ones that understand these three principles better than their competitors.
That also speaks to StockX’s market share of the aftermarket and it’s place in the overall equation, but that’s a story for another day.
The Return to Classic Silhouettes… With a Twist
Look at what’s actually growing: Maison Mihara Yasuhiro taking the Chuck Taylor and Superstar and elevating it. New Balance’s 990 series. ASICS’ classic runners. Salomon’s XT-6, which has been around since 2013. adidas’s Samba, which debuted in 1950.
These aren’t new designs. They’re classic silhouettes that work because they’ve proven themselves over time.
But here’s the key: they’re being elevated, reinterpreted, or presented in ways that feel fresh. Yasuhiro doesn’t just copy the Chuck Taylor. He makes it chunky, luxurious, intentionally imperfect. New Balance doesn’t just retro the 990. They create new colorways and collaborations that respect the original while pushing it forward.
In an economic environment where people might buy fewer shoes, they’re gravitating toward designs that feel timeless rather than trendy. Shoes that will still look good in five years. Shoes with cultural weight and substance.
The Louis Vuitton x Murakami collaboration hitting #4 in accessories proves this same principle. The original LV x Murakami collection from the early 2000s is legendary. Bringing it back in 2025 works because the original had genuine cultural significance. It wasn’t just hype—it was culture.
The StockX data proves what I’ve been saying for years... hype is temporary, but culture is permanent. The brands that understand that difference? They’re the ones that will still matter in 2030, 2035, 2040.
Innovation Still Matters… When It’s Actual Innovation
Nike’s 5,811% growth in non-sneaker footwear came from the Rejuven8—something genuinely new. Mizuno’s 124% sneaker growth came from lifestyle-forward silhouettes that weren’t just running shoes with different colorways.
The market is desperate for actual innovation. Not iteration. Not retros. Not “the same shoe but in a new color.” Actual new products that solve new problems or create new experiences.
But innovation is risky. It’s expensive. It takes time. It might fail.
That’s why most brands don’t do it. They play it safe with retros and collaborations and minor variations.
The brands that are actually innovating are seeing triple-digit growth. The brands playing it safe are seeing single-digit growth or decline.
That’s not a coincidence.
The Death of “Too Big to Fail”
Nike is still the biggest. And despite my criticisms, I’d argue, still the best.
But Mizuno is growing faster. Salomon is growing faster. Saucony is growing faster. Maison Mihara Yasuhiro is growing faster.
Size still matters for distribution and resources. But size doesn’t guarantee growth anymore. In fact, size might be a hindrance if it makes you slow, risk-averse, and bureaucratic.
The brands winning in 2025 are nimble. They’re taking risks. They’re making weird products and distrssed chunky sneakers and technical trail runners that become fashion statements.
Nike has 77,800 employees and grew 5% (in prices, not necessarily volume). Mizuno has a fraction of that and grew 124%.
At some point, you have to ask: is being the biggest actually an advantage anymore?
What This Means for You
Different people read this newsletter for different reasons, so here’s what this data means depending on who you are.
If You’re a Collector
These are the brands and categories to watch—not for investment (I've never believed in that), but because they represent where culture is actually moving.
If you want to wear stuff that matters, that has stories, that connects you to something bigger than just products... pay attention to what’s growing, not what’s dominant.
Mizuno, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, Saucony, Salomon. These are the brands doing interesting things.
Nike will always have the Jordan 1 and the Dunk. Those are classics for a reason. But if you want to be ahead of culture instead of following it, look at the fastest-growing list, not the best-selling list.
The trend toward classic silhouettes with elevated execution suggests people want substance over flash. They want shoes that will still matter in five years, not just five weeks.
If You Work in the Industry
This is your competitive intelligence.
If you work at Nike and you’re not concerned about Mizuno’s 124% growth trajectory, you’re not paying attention. If you’re at adidas and you think you can coast on Sambas and Gazelles forever, you’re wrong. If you’re at a smaller brand wondering how to break through, study what Uniqlo and SKIMS did with strategic collaborations.
The StockX data is what’s really happening in the market, stripped of all the corporate messaging and quarterly earnings spin. This is people voting with their wallets on what they actually value.
Nearly 200 brands hit all-time highs. That means there’s room for more winners. But only if you understand the formula: scarcity, storytelling, community.
Pay attention to the Pop Mart lesson. Blind box culture is thriving in collectibles. Could that translate to sneaker releases? Mystery colorways? Surprise collaborations? The secondary market rewards surprise and discovery.
Use this data. Learn from it. Adjust your strategy based on what it’s actually telling you, not what you want it to say.
If You’re a Creator or Marketer
The brands winning on resale are winning because they understand community, scarcity, and storytelling. You can’t manufacture desire through ads anymore. You can’t buy cultural relevance with celebrity endorsements. You have to earn it.
People see through the bullshit now. They know when something is authentic and when it’s manufactured. They know when a brand cares about them versus when a brand just wants their money.
The brands growinng are the ones that respect their audience’s intelligence. They’re the ones building for the long-term, not optimizing for this quarter. They’re the ones doing the hard work of actually being interesting instead of just trying to look interesting.
The shift toward classic silhouettes with modern execution tells you that people want substance. They want designs that feel considered, not rushed. They want products that will age well, not just generate quick hype.
That’s applicable to everything you’re creating, whether it’s sneakers or software or content itself.
The Canon G7X being a top-seller tells you even more people are getting into creating, too.
The Real Story
So yeah, Nike, Jordan, adidas, New Balance, and ASICS were the five best-selling sneaker brands on StockX in 2025. But here’s what that number hides.
The fastest-growing brand was Mizuno (124%). Second was Maison Mihara Yasuhiro (91%). Third was Saucony (59%). Fourth was Salomon (58%).
Nearly 200 brands hit all-time sales records. That means 195 brands beyond the top five had their best year ever.
That information should change how you think about market dynamics, cultural value, and what “winning” actually means.
The real story in this data isn’t who’s #1. It’s who’s growing. Who’s connecting. Who’s building the future instead of monetizing the past.
And that? That’s not the legacy brands anymore.
It’s the Mizunos taking running heritage and making it lifestyle. It’s Maison Mihara Yasuhiro elevating the Chuck Taylor into something luxury and strange. It’s the brands that remembered people are more interesting than products. It’s the brands that built communities instead of customer bases.
Nike’s got a year to prove Elliott Hill can rebuild what Donahoe nearly destroyed. They’ve got the World Cup. They’ve got the Olympics. They’ve got the infrastructure.
But they're getting outgrown by heritage Japanese running brand (Mizuno), avant-garde Japanese designer (Maison Mihara Yasuhiro), and a trail running brand owned by a ski company (Salomon).
It’s not about being #1 anymore. It’s about mattering to someone. It’s about building something people desire badly enough to pay more than retail for. It’s about understanding that scarcity, storytelling, and community will always beat scale, distribution, and advertising spend.
In Part 1, I showed you who won in sneakers and who’s pretending. Today, I showed you the bigger pattern... culture has fragmented, desire has democratized, and authenticity has become the only currency that matters.
The brands that understand that will own 2026 and beyond.
Everyone else is just renting their relevance, hoping the lease doesn’t run out before they figure out what they actually stand for.
I’ve been in this industry for 20 years—Eastbay, Complex, employee #9 at StockX, Finish Line, Stadium Goods. This StockX report matters because it strips away the marketing and shows you what people actually value. That’s what I’m trying to do with this newsletter.
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But even if you don’t subscribe, I hope this changed how you think about the brands you see everywhere.
The numbers don't lie. They just need someone who's been inside StockX, Complex, Sole Collector, Stadium Goods, and Finish Line to read them. That's what you're getting here.