New Balance Prove Slow and Steady Wins the Race with 23 Per Cent Increase in Revenue for 2023

In 2018, New Balance set their sights on reaching $7 billion in sales for 2023. This was an ambitious goal for the privately owned Boston brand, but then-CEO Rob DeMartini was confident it was achievable based on their previously steady growth. While NB didn’t quite hit that golden number, they were pretty darn close at $6.5 billion, which was a 23 per cent increase from 2022’s revenue. This not only demonstrates how accelerated their growth is, but also how reliable it has been for the past five years. Criticism on the current state of the market makes NB’s achievement even more impressive, especially when compared to Nike’s modest 9.6 per cent growth from the same period.

When DeMartini announced the $7-billion goal six years ago, he pledged that achieving this milestone would depend on their ability to stay true to their core: ‘We’re resolute in our strategy to be the world’s best running shoe brand – period. We’re not trying to chase the market or follow what’s hot at the moment.’ New Balance’s focus on product and performance over trends has been the key to their secure success, as opposed to riding extreme highs and lows experienced by other brands. They’ve been producing their signature ‘dad shoes’ for literal decades before they finally infiltrated the trends in the past five years. In our State of the Sneakersphere report, New Balance took out the top spot for the brand whose ‘cool’ factor has increased the most over the last 12 months, which is supported by the fact that 63 per cent of online NB customers are new buyers.

Since 2020, New Balance’s business has almost doubled in every region, boasting an exponential yet sustainable growth rate that will no doubt continue as they deliver premium product and stay true to their mission and strategy. In terms of future prosperity and stability, will New Balance be the tortoise to Nike’s hare?