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New Balance is a brand of shoes produced by the company New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
History
In 1906, William J. Riley, a 33 year old English immigrant, began manufacturing arch supports and other accessories in Boston, Massachusetts which were designed to improve shoe fit. In 1934, Riley became partners with his top salesman, Arthur Hall, who had found his sales niche by marketing his products to policemen and people with jobs which required them to spend a lot of time standing. In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter and her husband, Eleanor and Paul Kidd. Eleanor and Paul continued to sell mainly arch supports until 1961 when they designed and manufactured the Trackster, the world's first running shoe made with a ripple sole. It was the first running shoe to come in varying widths. The Trackster became the shoe of choice for running coaches and fitness directors, and thus New Balance's reputation for manufacturing innovative and specialized footwear in multiple widths grew. In 1972, Jim Davis, the current CEO of New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., bought the company on the day of the Boston Marathon. Back then, the company consisted of just six people who were making 30 pairs of shoes a day. Jim's wife Anne joined the company in 1978 with a focus on expanding New Balance into a global company. Today, 30% of the shoes sold in the European market are manufactured at the New Balance facility in England.
Current Company Profile
Today, New Balance employs about 2,000 people worldwide, including 1,200 manufacturing associates in five U.S. plants which are located in Boston and Lawrence, Massachusetts, Miami, Florida, Norridgewock, Skowhegan, and Norway, Maine. Annual revenue for the company hit the $1 billion mark in 2000. New Balance is still a privately held company and it has remained committed to its original strengths, including width-sizing, U.S. manufacturing and grassroots promotions. A large part of New Balance's marketing strategy is based on their support of athletics. The company sponsors the LaSalle Banks Chicago Marathon, the New Balance Maine Distance Festival, the Lilac Bloomsday Run, the New Balance Games and the Great Cow Harbor 10K. New Balance has become a national sponsor of the Susan G. Komen Foundation's Race for the Cure of Breast Cancer. It is also a generous contributor to various charities in Boston and other cities in which New Balance facilities are located.
New Balance has also acquired a brand called Dunham which provides the same technology as New Balance's shoes, except put into a more casual line, and an outdoors line including hiking shoes for both men and women. They have also developed a line called Aravon which excel in producing work type shoes also for men and women.
Made in America?
Aside from "Endorsed by no one", one of New Balance's marketing points is that it is "Made in America". However, New Balance, like virtually all athletic shoe manufacturers, is supplied (at least partly) by Chinese factories. National Labour Committee. Report on labour practices of New Balance supplier in China. 11/15/2002
References
External links
"New Balance"