New Balance is projecting a 30 percent increase in its sales to $4.5 billion in 2021, with growth of at least 25 percent in each geography. That would compare with revenues of $4 billion in 2019 and $3.4 billion in 2020.
Addressing a conference by the U.S. Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), the company’s CEO, Joe Preston, indicated that New Balance is capitalizing on its American shoe manufacturing operations on many fronts. It will open a fifth U.S. factory next month and it expects completion near its Boston headquarters in April of “THE TRACK at New Balance,” a sports complex with an integrated sports research lab to glean data from runners.
On the marketing front, the brand is running a new “Beyond the Run” series on the mental health benefits of the sport.
The company has been opening stores in the Asia-Pacific region to build up a platform for an expanded line of apparel, said Preston, but he stressed that New Balance will continue to give priority to its retail partners. In addition to direct sales, e-commerce will also provide a path for consumers to purchase at their stores.
The executive sees specialty retailers as having a place in the market for the long term as they are delivering the kind of tailored customer experience that large retailers do not.
