New Balance

New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company.

New Balance maintains a manufacturing presence in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom for the European market, where they produce some of their popular models. New Balance claims to differentiate their products with technical features, such as blended gel inserts, heel counters and a greater selection of sizes, particularly for very narrow or very wide widths. The company is privately held and totaled $4.4 billion in revenue in 2021.

History

In 1906, William J. Riley, an Irish immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in the Boston area, manufacturing arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit. His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three support points to provide greater balance and comfort in the shoe. It is believed that Riley came up with the name "New Balance" by observing chickens in his yard and demonstrated the way his arch supports worked by keeping a chicken foot on his office desk. He explained to customers that the chicken's three-pronged foot resulted in perfect balance. In 1927, Riley hired Arthur Hall to be a salesman. In 1934, Hall became a business partner. The company later did business under the name New Balance Athletic Shoe Company. As New Balance slowly established itself as a niche business in the 1930s, baseball players and track and field athletes sought the company out for its specialty footwear.

In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd. Eleanor and Paul Kidd continued to sell mainly arch supports until 1960, when they designed and manufactured the "Trackster", the first running shoe to come in varying widths. The Trackster gained popularity through YMCA programs in which it became the unofficial shoe. College track teams such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University and Boston University adopted the Trackster for their cross-country teams, soon to be followed by other colleges and private high schools around the country. Marketing was mostly word-of-mouth or through local sports fairs.

Sales languished until 1972, when 28-year-old Jim Davis bought the company, feeling that "leisure-time products would be a high-growth market." At the time, the company consisted of six people making 30 pairs of shoes daily and selling products primarily through mail-order with a few U.S. retailers. The Boston area became a center for the running boom of the 1970s, and the product line expanded and sales grew rapidly.

In 2001, New Balance purchased canvas sneaker company PF Flyers and re-launched the brand in 2003. In February 2004, the company purchased Warren, Michigan-based Warrier Lacrosse, now Warrior Sports. In 2011 New Balance placed its Aravon, Cobb Hill, and Dunham brands under its Drydock Footwear affiliate. In 2015, New Balance's parent, together with Berkshire Partners, bought the Rockport shoe company from the Adidas Group and combined it with Drydock Footwear under the name The Rockport Group, now with the Aravon, Cobb Hill, Dunham, and Rockport brands. In 2018, The Rockport Group went into bankruptcy and was sold.

In February 2015, New Balance announced its entry into the global soccer (association football) market. The company had started its soccer business through its subsidiary Warrior Sports in 2012, punctuated by a $40-million-a-year sponsorship deal with Liverpool, but made the move to rebrand based on the global reach of the parent brand. Later on, the UK High Court rejected the legal filling of New Balance against the Liverpool's UK£70 million+ kit deal with Nike, which come into force in January 2020 and staggered the Manchester United deal with Adidas for £75 million annually.

During 2016, New Balance opposed the Trans Pacific Partnership and condemned the Obama administration's support for it, arguing that it would hurt their domestic shoe manufacturing (while Nike, which does not manufacture in the US, supported the TPP). Matt Lebretton, the company's Vice President of public affairs said in April 2016 "I would say that when Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump all agree on something, then it has to be given a closer look; and they all agree that TPP is not the right policy." After Donald Trump won the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Lebretton told a reporter, "The Obama administration turned a deaf ear to us bout tradeand frankly, with President-elect Trump, we feel things are going to move in the right direction." Some news outlets reported that an ad hoc boycott campaign was created out of an interpretation of Lebretton's remarks as supportive of Trump. Owner and Chairman Davis donated almost $400,000 to the Trump Victory Committee in September 2016.

In February 2018, the company signed a sponsorship deal with the New York Mets baseball team. In November, New Balance signed NBA star Kawhi Leonard to an exclusive basketball shoe contract. In December, Chief Commercial Officer Joe Preston succeeded Rob DeMartini as New Balance's president. In February 2020, the company announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with the NBA, and launched its new line of Kawhi Leonard-signature sneakers, named "Kawhi". Also in February, the company launched a FuelCell branded shoe with a carbon plate, after new running guidelines allowing the plates in competitive races were approved.

In March 2020, the company announced that it would be converting some of its manufacturing facilities in New England to produce face masks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Products

New Balance manufactures a range of shoes and apparel for runners, other athletes and non-athletes.

Running shoes

New Balance's running shoes include its Fresh Foam and FuelCell lines, named for the type of foam in their soles.

Basketball shoes

The company markets a line of Kawhi Leonard-branded signature basketball shoes. The first version was called "Omn1s", and the second version was named "Kawhi".

Baseball shoes

New Balance manufactures a line of baseball shoes that are described as a runner's shoe with spikes. The underfoot is designed to relieve spike pressure.

Skateboarding shoes

New Balance Numeric is the company's skateboarding shoe brand, which is distributed by Black Box Distribution, a company founded by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas. The brand also consists of a sponsored team that is coordinated by professional skateboarder John Rattray. The team includes professional skateboarders PJ Ladd, Tiago Lemos, Arto Saari, Brandon Westgate and Jamie Foy.

Everyday sneakers

The company manufactures the Made in USA line of everyday sneakers known for being manufactured in the United States. It also manufacturers a line called Made by Women, created by women who work at New Balance's design and manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts.

Apparel

New Balance's athletic apparel includes running caps, athletic socks and water bottles. The company also manufactures a line of everyday apparel including snap button shirt-jackets, windbreakers, long-sleeved shirts and track pants, as well as hoodies, sweaters and sweatpants.

Operations

New Balance maintains a manufacturing presence in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom for the European market, where they produce some of their most popular models such as the 990—in contrast to its competitors, which often manufacture exclusively outside the United States and Europe. As a result, New Balance shoes tend to be more expensive than those of many other manufacturers. To offset this pricing difference, New Balance claims to differentiate their products with technical features, such as blended gel inserts, heel counters and a greater selection of sizes, particularly for very narrow or very wide widths. Between 1992 and 2019, the company made approximately $69 billion in profit. In 2017, New Balance's facility in Flimby, England was producing 28,000 pairs of shoes a week, 5 percent of the New Balance shoes sold in the European market.

Sponsorships and collaborations

New Balance sponsors a variety of sports teams, leagues and individuals. Sponsorships include the New York Road Runners, which organizes the New York City Marathon, the National Basketball Association, major league baseball teams the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox, and the Olympic teams of Ireland and Chile at the Rio 2016 Olympics. It has sponsored football national and club teams worldwide, US and European athletics teams, and individual athletes in basketball, cricket, cycling, tennis, rugby, lacrosse, motorsports, and skateboarding.

The company has launched products in collaboration with apparel company Aimé Leon Dore, NBA star Kawhi Leonard, and British fashion designer Paul Smith. The company's brand ambassadors include Boston Red Sox Shortstop Xander Bogaerts, entertainer Jaden Smith and US Olympic sprinter Sydney McLaughlin. In July 2021, it was announced that South Korean superstar IU will be partnering with New Balance as a brand ambassador for its "We Got Now" campaign. In February 2022, during NBA All-Star Weekend, New Balance signed rapper Jack Harlow as a brand ambassador. Harlow is known for frequently wearing New Balance and mentioning the brand in songs.

Olympic Committees

The company debut on the Olympics stage, dressing the Olympic Council of Ireland and the Chilean Olympic Committee at Rio 2016.

Football national teams

CONCACAF

* (Until December 2022)
* (Until 2023)

Football club teams

Asia

* Brisbane Roar
* Campbelltown City SC
* North Eastern MetroStars SC
* West Adelaide SC
* FC Tokyo
* Sagan Tosu
* Seoul E-Land FC
* Al Sadd SC

Europe

* Harrogate Town
* Lille OSC
* Modena
* A.S. Roma (Until 2022-23 season)
* FC Porto
* Athletic Bilbao (Until 2022-23 season)
* Dynamo Kyiv
* Konyaspor
* Cardiff City

North America

* DeKalb County United
* Muskegon Risers SC

South America

* Red Bull Bragantino

Players

* Bukayo Saka
* Eberechi Eze
* Harvey Elliott
* Raheem Sterling
* Tim Weah
* Sadio Mane
* Toni Martinez
* Yeferson Soteldo

Athletics

From 2013, New Balance has considerably increased the number of athletes it sponsors. Noticeable athletes signed by the company include Sydney McLaughlin and since 2015, they have sponsored the young rising star Trayvon Bromell. New Balance also sponsors athletics teams such as New Zealand and the Antigua and Barbuda national team.

* Rose Davies
* Nana Owusu-Afriyie
* Celeste Mucci
* Harry Aikines-Aryeetey
* Callum Hawkins
* Zoe Hobbs
* Trayvon Bromell
* Lisanne de Witte
* Richard Douma
* Sydney McLaughlin
* Jenny Simpson
* Emma Coburn
* Gabrielle Thomas

Australian rules football

Since 2011, New Balance have supplied the official uniforms of the Melbourne Football Club in the AFL, the top league of Australian rules football. The company's other official involvement in the game has also included supplying uniforms for both the St Kilda Football Club and Gold Coast Suns since 2021 while providing supplies for lower level competitions including the VFL and SANFL.

* Melbourne Football Club
* St Kilda Football Club
* Gold Coast Suns
* Casey Demons
* Sandringham Football Club
* Southern Saints
* Frankston Football Club
* Central District Football Club
* West Adelaide Football Club

Baseball club teams

* kt wiz
* Perth Heat

Basketball

The company previously partnered with Matt Bonner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s San Antonio Spurs, providing him with shoes over a period of several years. James Worthy from the Los Angeles Lakers also used New Balance shoes. During the 2010–11 NBA season, Bonner was sent a prototype for a signature shoe that he was developing with the brand, but the shoes fell apart at the beginning of the game that he first wore them in. After Bonner was informed that the prototype shoes were not meant to be worn, a representative informed him that New Balance was ceasing its sponsorship of basketball. In 2018, New Balance signed then Toronto Raptors small forward, Kawhi Leonard.

;Sponsorship
* Kawhi Leonard
* Dejounte Murray
* Jamal Murray
* Darius Bazley
* Zach LaVine
;Formerly
* Matt Bonner
* James Worthy

Cricket

From 2017, New Balance signed a 5 year deal with the England & Wales Cricket Board, to become kit supplier to the England team till 2022. New Balance also sponsors the following international cricketers.

Cricket Domestic and Local Teams

* ACT Meteors
* Melbourne Cricket Club
* NSW Blues
* NSW Breakers
* Queensland Bulls
* Queensland Fire
* South Australian Redbacks
* South Australian Scorpions
* Tasmanian Tigers
* Victoria
* Western Australia
* Birmingham Phoenix
* Gloucestershire
* Hampshire
* London Spirit
* Manchester Originals
* Northern Superchargers
* Southern Brave
* Southern Vipers
* Trent Rockets
* Welsh Fire

Cricket Players

* Steve Smith
* Matthew Wade
* Pat Cummins
* Meg Lanning
* Sophie Molineux
* Joe Root
* Matt Parkinson
* Liam Plunkett
* Mark Wood
* Kate Cross
* Charlotte Edwards
* James Anderson
* Jos Buttler
* Babar Hayat
* Nizakat Khan
* Tanwir Afzal
* Anshuman Rath
* Taniya Bhatia
* Glenn Phillips
* Mitchell Santner
* Ish Sodhi
* Trent Boult
* Mitchell McClenaghan
* Grant Elliott
* Suzie Bates
* Dale Steyn
* Temba Bavuma
* Wiaan Mulder

Cycling

Following the official launch in July 2011, New Balance was the primary sponsor of Boston's bike share system, the New Balance Hubway.
New Balance began a partnership with American professional cycling team in 2011, providing the team kits as well as their "exclusive off bike athletic footwear" sponsor.

Lacrosse

After its merger in 2004 with Warrior Sports New Balance began to produce lacrosse products, which then leads to sponsorships of players. They began with sponsorship of Major League Lacrosse then in 2018 after the Premier Lacrosse League announcement they became official sponsors of many different players.
* Paul Rabil
* Rob Pannell
* Trevor Baptiste

Motorsports

* Alfa Romeo Racing

Netball

* Australian Diamonds
* Sunshine Coast Lightning
* West Coast Fever

Rugby League

* Dean Whare
* Josh Papalii

Rugby Union

* Fijian Drua
* GPS Rugby
* Bond University Rugby Club

Skateboarding

* Tiago Lemos
* Jamie Foy
* Brandon Westgate
* Franky Villani
* Marquise Henry
* PJ Ladd
* Tom Knox
* Samaria Brevard
* Tom Karangelov
* Andrew Reynolds

Tennis

* Jordan Thompson
* Matt Reid
* Chris Guccione
* Milos Raonic
* Eugenie Bouchard
* Heather Watson
* Misaki Doi
* Sorana Cîrstea
* Nicole Gibbs
* Coco Gauff
* Rajeev Ram
* Paulo Sevilla
* Tommy Paul

U.S. colleges

* Boston College Eagles
* Denver Pioneers
* Maine Black Bears
* Pfeiffer University
* Providence Friars (track & field only)

Water Polo

* Water Polo Australia

New Balance Foundation

The New Balance Foundation was established in 1981. The foundation donates to national and Boston-based charitable organizations, and groups that support children and families with a focus on health, nutrition, education and physical activity.

Toning footwear

In 2011, a class action lawsuit was filed against New Balance alleging that the company's toning footwear touts unproven benefits. In support of its claim of false advertising, it cited a University of Wisconsin–La Crosse research study on toning shoes that was funded and published by the American Council on Exercise.

Researchers studying rival toning shoes made by Skechers and Reebok reported that there were no "statistically significant increases in either exercise response or muscle activation" as a result of wearing the toning shoes. There was no statistically significant difference between participants wearing special "toning shoes" and controls wearing normal sneakers. The researchers concluded that there is "simply no evidence to support the claims that these shoes will help wearers exercise more intensely, burn more calories or improve muscle strength and tone." However, it was noted that "These shoes may be encouraging a fair number of people who probably wouldn't put on a normal pair of walking shoes and go out and walk." In August 2012, New Balance agreed to pay $2.3 million to settle false advertising claims.

References

External links

*

FTC "Complying with the Made In the USA Standard" site

{{Authority control

1906 establishments in Massachusetts
1950s fashion
1960s fashion
1970s fashion
1980s fashion
American companies established in 1906
Athletic shoe brands
Clothing companies established in 1906
Manufacturing companies based in Boston
Privately held companies based in Massachusetts
Shoe brands
Shoe companies of the United States
Skateboard shoe companies
Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States
Sportswear brands