After a few wild weeks of endorsements by the crew at New Balance, the brand ends Q3 with news of a change at the top. At the beginning of this year I wrote a prediction of how New Balance would perform. In the post I made this statement: This year if NB can make a few adjustments in the delivery of their product I think they become more of a household name. If New Balance was publicly traded I would say they are the best buy of 2018 in footwear.
How Will Your Favorite Sneaker Brand Perform in 2018? | New Balance (Privately Owned)
In the announcement today New Balance delivered information that might be overlooked by many. “DeMartini led New Balance for 12 years and oversaw global growth of the athletic brand from $1.5 billion in 2007 to $4.2 billion in 2018.” 4.2 Million. This places the brand, a private brand, squarely in the position of being considered the 3rd player. I think the company has nailed down marketing, and they are making sure to prepare for the upcoming Olympics. They have also invested heavily in niche sports where I said they had an opportunity. The recent Numeric videos, which weren’t supported via ad campaign, fell flat, but are actually dope. Consider that New Balance has done something in the video below that is decidely unlike other sneaker companies. They used a native, classic song by Warumpi Band at the beginning of the video and then Bad Bad Not Good x Ghostface at the end. If New Balance takes my advice and they create a media company… actually they need to fly me in to complete that sentence and pay me, lol.
The company definitely seems to have a digital and endorsement strategy and that’s a good thing. While I don’t think changes at the top trickle down, New Balance has not really held up to the level of excitement in footwear that they had last year, so maybe it was time for a change. The brand has made considerable updates to rewards programs and email marketing, but I do feel that there is some soul missing. Will Joe Preston guide NB to the 5 Billion dollar mark? Possibly… if the brand can begin to create a culture beyond collabs and performance.
Use the source link to read more on the new appointment.
