| History
A New Balance running shoe
A pair of New Balance 574 casual trainers
New Balance headquartersNew Balance is one of few shoe manufacturers to offer the majority of its shoes in a wide range of widths, typically mens range from B to 6E with 3 other widths in between
(D, 2E, 4E) and one narrower offering (2A). Womens range from 4A to 4E with four widths to choose from in between (2A, B, D, 2E).
New Balance does not give names to the shoes it sells, instead referring to them by a 2, 3, or 4 digit model number. This is done to "place an emphasis on the New Balance philosophy, not any one
particular shoe". When a shoe is redesigned, the model number is increased by one. It is unknown to the general public what the number scheme actually stands for, and assigned numbers change
frequently due to redesigns.
In 1906, William J. Riley, a 33 year old English immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company, which manufactured arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit, in
Boston, Massachusetts. His first product, a flexible arch support, was designed with three points of support in the shape of a triangle. These points created greater balance and comfort in the
shoe. Its 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 to
demonstrate. He would explain to customers that the chickens three clawed foot resulted in perfect balance. In 1927, Riley hired Arthur Hall to be a salesman and in 1934, Hall became a business
partner and soon found his niche by marketing his products to people whose jobs required them to spend much time standing. In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband
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Marketing was mostly by word-of-mouth or local sports fairs, cheap jordan on sale
and sales languished, until 1972, when current Chairman Jim Davis bought the company on the day of the Boston Marathon. At the time, the
company consisted of just six people making 30 pairs of shoes daily and selling products mostly through mail-order with a few U.S. retailers. Jim committed himself to uphold the companys
traditional commitment to individual preferences, customer service and quality products. His future wife Anne, who joined the company in 1978, focused on building a distinct culture for New Balance
employees and customers. Their timing was perfect, as the Boston area soon became a veritable hotbed of the running boom that struck the U.S. in the 1970s. Their product line expanded and sales
skyrocketed. The homegrown company prospered, and the Davises looked to expand New Balance into a global company. The company is now run by California native Rob DeMartini. DeMartinis background
includes Procter & Gamble and Gillette Shave Company. Today, 30% of the New Balance shoes sold in the European market are manufactured at the New Balance facility in England.
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Eleanor and Paul continued to sell mainly arch supports until 1960, when they designed and manufactured the "Trackster," the worlds first running shoe made with a ripple sole. It was also the first
running shoe to come in varying widths. The "Trackster" was given a big boost through the YMCA programs where it became the unofficial shoe of the program. College track teams such as MIT, Tufts
University and Boston University adopted the New Balance Trackster for their cross-country teams soon to be followed by other colleges and private high schools around the country. |
