By signing Cooper Flagg, Shohei Ohtani, Coco Gauff, and other rising superstars, the 119-year-old sneaker and apparel brand, New Balance, is on a mission to redefine its standing in the sports hierarchy. In 2023, prior to becoming the top player in college basketball and the anticipated No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, New Balance Chief Marketing Officer Chris Davis issued a bold challenge to one of his key executives. “Go get this guy,” was the directive given to Naveen Lokesh, who oversees the brand’s basketball and football divisions, as his boss placed a recent issue of SLAM magazine featuring Duke’s prized freshman on his desk.
The odds were stacked against New Balance. Although just 17 at the time, Flagg had already captivated scouts with his extraordinary athleticism and uncanny playmaking skills, earning a reputation as one of the best teenage prospects of the century, joining the ranks of other No. 1 picks like LeBron James, Zion Williamson, and Victor Wembanyama. The potential financial rewards he could unlock had sneaker companies vying for his endorsement. Despite New Balance's impressive revenue of $7.8 billion last year, it couldn't compete with the financial giants like Nike ($51 billion in 2024 revenue) or Adidas ($26 billion).
However, New Balance had a unique advantage. Flagg grew up in Newport, Maine, just 25 miles from New Balance’s manufacturing facility in Skowhegan. He fondly recalls shopping with his mother at the factory's annual tent sale for backpacks, clothing, and sneakers every school year. When it came time to pitch Flagg, New Balance emphasized this connection, presenting a tribute video filmed at the Skowhegan factory, allowing long-time associates to speak on the brand’s behalf, according to Lokesh.
In August, New Balance officially announced Flagg as a brand ambassador, marking a significant step for a brand that has historically been more reserved in its pursuit of superstar talent. In fact, during the 1990s, New Balance famously ran a campaign with the tagline “Endorsed By No One,” emphasizing that athletes chose their products for quality rather than financial incentives. This approach has evolved, reflecting the changing landscape of sneaker marketing.
To connect with the next generation of consumers, New Balance has spent the last 15 years reshaping its marketing strategy, placing a strong emphasis on athlete ambassadors. The brand now proudly boasts a powerful roster of sports icons, including two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff, three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, NBA All-Stars Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, and Tyrese Maxey, as well as WNBA star Cameron Brink. This strategy has helped New Balance establish a new identity, moving beyond its previous reputation as a “Dad Shoe,” a product famously parodied on Saturday Night Live.
New Balance’s evolution has contributed significantly to its financial growth, with revenue more than quadrupling from $1.8 billion in 2010 to over $7.8 billion last year. Between 2022 and 2024, the brand reported a 27% increase in global revenue across its baseball, basketball, football, and tennis categories. This growth coincides with Gauff winning her first major at the U.S. Open, Ohtani’s World Series victory, and Murray's NBA title win with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.
Moreover, this expansion has driven consumers towards New Balance's lifestyle sneakers and apparel, an area that generates substantial revenue within the industry. Forbes estimates that New Balance’s sports footwear segment, encompassing performance, lifestyle, and outdoor offerings, grew by 50%, increasing from $4.4 billion to $6.6 billion globally during this period.
“We recognized that we could be so much more than we were, and the potential of our brand was under-realized,” says Davis, the son of New Balance’s billionaire chairman, Jim Davis. “Partnerships in athletics, entertainment, streetwear, and luxury fashion have been essential in communicating our brand ambition to new consumers.” Despite its past reluctance to embrace athlete endorsements, New Balance has gradually shifted its approach.
In the early 1980s, the brand began collaborating with athletes, signing NBA player M.L. Carr and later future Hall of Famer James Worthy to the first million-dollar shoe deal in the sport’s history. However, by 2010, their roster had narrowed to primarily runners, until they reinvented their baseball division with the addition of Dustin Pedroia, a Boston Red Sox star.
In 2015, New Balance set its sights on a demographic of 400 million consumers aged 13 to 34 interested in the intersection of sports and culture. To engage this audience, New Balance revamped its media buying strategy, shifting from transaction-based marketing to focusing on showcasing its star athletes through campaigns like “We Got Now” and collaborating with entertainers and influencers.
Despite these efforts, changing public perception remains a challenge for New Balance in a competitive market. Euromonitor estimates that the retail sports footwear market in the U.S. was valued at $50 billion in 2024, with Nike holding nearly one-third of the market share, while New Balance accounted for just 5.6% in the previous year.
New Balance's selective approach in ambassador partnerships has led to a younger roster, exemplified by signing Gauff at just 14 years old. “They took a chance on me before anyone else, so I'm incredibly grateful for our seven-year relationship,” Gauff shared with Forbes. In 2018, New Balance also made a significant return to basketball, signing NBA prospect Darius Bazley and securing superstar Kawhi Leonard, who reportedly turned down a lucrative deal with Nike's Jordan Brand to join New Balance.
While the endorsement of top athletes can produce substantial returns, analysts like BCE’s Powell question the effectiveness of these deals in a market where performance basketball sneakers are declining. Davis, however, views the brand's impact through a broader lens, stating, “We don’t only gauge our entry into basketball by shoe sales. Our success also lies in connecting with basketball culture and consumers across all categories.”
As New Balance continues to secure partnerships with champions like Gauff, Ohtani, Murray, Brink, and Leonard, the brand is not only aiming for cultural relevance but also setting its sights on achieving $10 billion in annual revenue in the coming years. While its athlete partnerships are crucial to this vision, the brand remains committed to the products that have sustained its growth over the decades. “The ‘Dad Shoe’ has played a vital role in our journey, and we aim to be many things to many people,” Lokesh stated, emphasizing New Balance's multifaceted identity.
