Premium Brands Rule Outdoor Fashion Popularity

The North Face and Columbia are the most-liked outdoor clothing brands in the United States. This is the result of a survey by Statista Consumer Insights. The North Face is part of the VF Corporation, which recently generated sales of more than $10 billion, making it the undisputed market leader among global outdoor outfitters. Colombia is a publicly listed company headquartered in Oregon and generates revenues of more than $3 billion annually. Together with Patagonia, ranked fourth, many of the most-liked U.S. outdoor apparel firms are on the higher end of the price (and quality) spectrum.

While upwards of 50 percent of respondents said they liked The North Face and Columbia (and between 24 and 28 percent said they like Eddie Bauer and Patagonia), the more affordable brand REI was liked by just 14 percent. These numbers include people who said they didn't know the brands in question and therefore said they didn't know if they liked them.

Overall, the outdoor industry in the U.S. brought in more than $1 trillion in 2023 and employed 5 million people - the equivalent of 3.1 percent of U.S. employees.