New Balance History

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The Company Description of Its Time

Founded by William Riley in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Company, in Boston, Massachusetts, New Balance began by manufacturing arch supports and orthopedic shoes. That origin explains everything that follows in this long filing: the company started from the inside of the shoe, from fit anatomy, decades before it sold a runner a complete sneaker. During the 1950s and 60s athletes turned to the company for customised running shoes because of its unique expertise in handcrafting specialised footwear, and Paul Kidd, who bought the company in 1956, increased the shoe-making sector as that demand grew until running shoes became the primary business.

Widths, Lasts and the 360 Fit Idea

Because feet don't come in just one or two widths, and because shoes that fit better perform better, New Balance shoes are offered in up to six different widths, from a narrow 2A to an expansive 6E. The company developed 18 different foot models, or lasts, to design its shoes around, each last taking into account the user, men, women and kids, and the use. Together they create what the filing calls 360 Fit, a complete fit and size profile, extended through a 360 Fit System of technologies across footwear and apparel designed to meet the diverse needs of athletes in different activities.

That fit philosophy sits beside an unusually explicit manufacturing commitment. New Balance owns and operates five factories in New England, three in Maine and two in Massachusetts, plus one in Flimby, England, with distribution facilities in Lawrence, Massachusetts and Ontario, California, and states that it continues to manufacture 25 percent of its shoes in the United States while the wider industry sent production overseas. Worldwide sales grew from $221 million in 1992 to $1.55 billion in 2006, with nearly 2,800 employees and products sold in 120 countries on six continents at the filing's count, figures to quote with their period attached.

Buying Its Way Into New Sports

The acquisition ledger shows a private company expanding by category rather than by fashion. In 1998 it acquired Dunham to expand into rugged casual without diluting the brand. In 2001 came PF Flyers for the active lifestyle market, with new product in Spring 2003, and a new comfort performance brand, Aravon, introduced at retail in Spring 2004. Early 2004 brought Warrior Lacrosse, recognised as a cutting edge lacrosse equipment maker, after the Warrior Burn by New Balance lacrosse shoe; Innovative Hockey followed in 2005 as Warrior Hockey, Brine arrived in August 2006 for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and volleyball, and the Vital Apparel Group, a leading active apparel company based in New York, was acquired in December 2007.

The filing closes by restating the principles it says never changed: superior customer service, a commitment to domestic manufacturing, and leadership in technological innovation, with teamwork, total customer satisfaction and integrity as core values. The corporate address kept in the historical record is New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., Brighton Landing, 20 Guest Street, Boston. A second New Balance page sits at this folder's directory address, summarising the filing for visitors who arrive by the shorter URL; the official New Balance website in the References carries current products and sizing.

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