Source: NEW BALANCE LAUNCHES FIRST SIGNATURE TENNIS SHOE WITH RISING TENNIS SUPERSTAR COCO GUAFF
If you’ve read this site before, you understand that I think fashion is fickle and relying solely on hype, collabs and lifestyle, can contribute to a brand’s inability to innovate. The more a company places its energy into satisfying the hype machine, when sales there are growing, the more the brand opens itself up to sudden shifts in the market.
New Balance could run the risk of giving too much to the realm of resale and sneakerheads with their Dunk like rollout of 550 retro basketball and an overreliance on Joe FreshGoods collabs. Think about this, the brand has signed more athletes than any other time in their history, yet coverage of those athletes on sneaker media sites dwindles as collaborative efforts push the coverage needle for New Balance. The Coco Guaff 1 is a lot like the Kawhi signature series. It won’t move the needle at New Balance’s retail doors, which cater to an older demographic and runners, and it won’t drive sneaker YouTube to post endless videos about the resale value. It’s a niche market play banking on the future of Coco attaining a semblance of the career of the greats before her.
The CG1 for New Balance isn’t a fast burn. Performance and signature sneakers for sport allows for the brand to be there as interest rises in the career of the athlete which delivers new participants into the sport. Venus and Serena spawned Sloan Stephens, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keyes and Coco. Coco is the youngest of the new era of women tennis players and her rise will spike interest in the game if she continues to excel. The CG1 isn’t meant to sell out immediately. It’s New Balance’s balance in understanding that although their Lifestyle market is growing with an IG of 925,000 followers, their brand reaches more athletes and runners with an IG following of 6.5million. Check out the links on those IG pages and you’ll notice almost immediately one is covered in athletes and the other highlights the collabs. Tennis is undoubtedly niche, but the comparison is undeniable, even niche sports can contribute more than people think. Brands should take care to create in all areas. Feeding the beast may help it grow, but everything else can end up in the shadows and that’s not a good thing.