Hot tennis shoes 2015

2. Small Shoe Brands Are Making Big Headway

While the biggest six or seven brands will continue to dominate running shoe sales in 2015, there are a lot of smaller brands making big headway. Smaller brands that have some great shoes coming out next year include Zoot Sports, ON Running, Pearl Izumi and Scott Sports. For those smaller brands (and others) to succeed and continue to grow, it takes several things with little margin for error, including: 1) Increasingly good shoes (both in how they run and look) through their entire line; 2) Great support and on-time delivery for the retailers who have taken on those brands; 3) A good amount of marketing push from the brand; 4) Great sales reps who believe in the product and support it locally with running store events; 5) Good to great product reviews in magazines, but also from online sites and hobby bloggers; 6) Being consistently better at each of those things than most other smaller to medium-sized brands. (Pictured: 2015 ON Running lightweight Cloud trainer/racer)

3. Big Brands Aren't Going Away

These brands aren't listed in any particular order, but ... 1) Adidas is back with a vengeance, thanks to the momentum from its Boost midsole foam (and continued success from many of the world's best marathoners); 2) ASICS, for years the No. 1 brand at running specialty shops, is back too. After several years of some rough road (which included waiting too long to offer up new, innovative models and then some not-so-great-shoes once it did, followed up by a some major personnel changes), specialty retail shops have reported that brand is on the way up again; 3) Thanks to GM Tom Carleo and product line manager Claire Wood (among others), New Balance continues to make headway with fast, light and athletic shoes while still servicing the masses with modern designs. The Fresh Foam Zante and Vazee Pace will be great shoes for the brand in 2015, and it should also gain from having both the men's and women's Ironman champions in its shoes; 4) Saucony has made a splash with the Kinvara, its splashy apparel and good trail running shoes in recent years and it should get plenty of positive bounce from its 2015 shoe line, starting with the innovative ISO Series models (especially the Triumph 12 and the Zealot); 5) Brooks has been No. 1 at run specialty stores the past few years. Enough said, but it's much more than the happy-shiny-funny "Run Happy" vibe that oozes from the brand, although that certainly helps too. Look for Brooks to make big strides with apparel starting in 2015 too; 6) Nike is still Nike. The big machine is still cranking away up in Beaverton, Ore., and if you've run in some of its latest shoes—from the Air Zoom Pegasus 31 to the Air Zoom Elite 7—you know the Swoosh is still making great, top-tier shoes. The brand has also benefited from the record-setting Free line. (Pictured: 2015 Adidas Boston women's shoe with Boost midsole foam and an updated engineered mesh upper.)