New Balance

In 1906, William J. Riley, an Irish immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in Boston, which manufactured arch supports and other accessories designed to improve the fit of shoes.His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three support points to provide greater balance and comfort in the shoe. Riley is believed to have coined the name "New Balance" by observing chickens in his backyard and demonstrating the way his arch supports worked by holding a chicken foot on his office desk. He explained to his clients that the chicken's triangular foot resulted in perfect balance. In 1927, Riley hired Arthur Hall as a salesman. In 1934, Hall became his business partner. The company later operated under the name New Balance Athletic Shoe Company. In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd.

Eleanor and Paul Kidd continued to sell primarily arch supports until 1960, when they designed and manufactured the "Trackster," the first running shoe to be available in a variety of widths. The "Trackster" gained popularity through YMCA programs in which it became an unofficial shoe. College athletic teams such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University and Boston University adopted the New Balance Trackster for their cross country teams, and were soon followed by other colleges and private high schools across the country. Marketing is primarily word of mouth or through local sports fairs. Sales languished until 1972, when current chairman Jim Davis bought the company on the day of the Boston Marathon. At that time, the company consisted of six people producing 30 pairs of shoes a day and selling the products primarily through mail order with several American retailers. The Boston area became the center of the running boom in the 1970s and the product line expanded and sales grew rapidly.

 

New Balance Fuel Core Nitrel Shoes

In 2001, New Balance purchased the PF Flyers sneaker company and relaunched the brand in 2003. In February 2004, the company purchased Warren, Michigan-based Warrier Lacrosse, now Warrior Sports.In 2011, New Balance placed the Aravon, Cobb Hill, and Dunham brands under its Drydock Footwear subsidiary. In 2015, New Balance's parent company, along with Berkshire Partners, bought the Rockport footwear company from the Adidas Group and merged 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 was declared bankrupt and sold.

In February 2015, New Balance announced its entry into the global soccer (association football) market. The company started its soccer business through its Warrior Sports subsidiary in 2012, broken through a $40 million a year sponsorship deal with Liverpool, but made the move to rebrand based on the global reach of the parent brand.

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

 

The brand's current athletic footwear offerings can be found at Fusion stores, as well as Scandal BG Mall, Scandal St. Solunska 10, Sofia, Scandal The Mall.

Coming soon to our online store: www.globalbrnadsstore.com.

 

 

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