New Balance | Success story of Sports brand of America

New Balance is one of the world’s major sports brands famous for its sports footwear and apparel. The company is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the United States where the headquarters remain today in the Brighton neighbourhood.

History

In 1906, William J. Riley founded the New Balance Arch support company in the Boston Area. His first product, flexible arch support, also designed with three support points to provide greater comfort in the shoe. Riley came up with the name New Balance by observing chickens in yards. He explained that the chicken’s three-pronged foot for its perfect balance. In 1927, William hired a salesman named Arthur Hall. In the coming years, they became business partners. They started their business under the name New Balance Athletic Shoe Company.

Later in 1956, Arthur sold the brand to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd. They continued to sell arch support till the 1960s when they designed the Trackster the world’s first running shoe made with a ripple sole. Teams such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tufts University and Boston University adopted the new balance Trackster for their teams.
Initially, they did the marketing mostly word to mouth in local sports fairs. Later Jim Davis bought the company there were around six people who made 30 shoes daily. They sold most of them through mail to United States retailers.

Way Towards Success

The Boston area became a centre for the running boom that struck the U.S. in the 1970s, and the product line expanded and sales grew rapidly. Davis expanded New Balance into a global company. In 1976, The brand launched the 320, the first New Balance sneaker to feature the now-famous ‘N‘ logo. The sneaker was voted as the number one running shoe on the market by Runner’s World magazine. The success of the 320 marked New Balance’s global breakthrough. New Balance became globally successful with a range of products from walking shoes to clothes. In 1988, New Balance released their most famous sneaker New Balance 574. The 574 became a popular sneaker off of the running track.
Present days the brand has a bunch of sneakers apparel, and specialised products for sports like football, basketball, cricket, skateboarding shoes, baseball shoes and also everyday shoes and apparel like socks, caps, jackets, sweaters, sweatpants, and many more.

Collaborations

New Balance collaborated with fashion labels like Norse Projects, Stussy, United Arrows, and Beams Plus. The brand also sponsors sports teams like National Basketball Association (NBA) the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox. And football clubs like A.S. Roma, Liverpool FC, Athletic Bilbao, Dynamo Kyiv, Lille OSC and many more. The brand also sponsors players like Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Sadio Mane, Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Jason Roy, Trent Boult and many more professional athletes.
They also sponsor the United States College teams like Boston College Eagles, Maine Black Bears, Pfeiffer University and more. The brand also sponsors Football National Teams like Costa Rica and Panama. They also sponsor National cricket teams like England Cricket Board and Wales Cricket Board.

Also Read: Nike | Pioneer of the Sneaker Culture in the world