1. Introduction
Founded by William Riley in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Company, in Belmont, MA, New Balance manufactured arch supports and orthopedic shoes. During the fifties and sixties, athletes turned to the company for customized running shoes due to New Balance's unique expertise in handcrafting specialized footwear. Paul Kidd bought the company in 1956 and increased the shoe-making sector as demand grew. Production of running shoes soon became the company's primary source of business. The New Balance "Trackster", one of the first running shoes made, grew very popular not only because of its technical innovation, but because it was available in a wide range of widths.
In 1972, New Balance was purchased by current Chairman and CEO, James (Jim) S. Davis. Four years later, the New Balance 320 running shoe was rated number one on the market, which launched the company into worldwide prominence. Since then, New Balance has diversified into making a complete range of athletic shoes for a variety of athletic activities.
English: Cumulative Current Account Balance from 1...
English: Balance of payments by country as of 2006
English: Cumulative Current Account Balance per ca...Throughout the years New Balance has maintained the same principles it was founded upon: extensive width sizing, a commitment to domestic manufacturing, and leadership in technological innovation. Its Annual Sales for 2000 was Domestic $750 million and worldwide $1.1 billion.
New Balance Athletic shoe, INC. is the second-largest maker of running shoes in the America and has wide range of athletic footwear for males and females, athletic apparel and accessories. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc is an American private owned company, who has more than 2500 associates in the world and distributes the products in over 120 countries. The company has been running for over 30 years and has 12 wholly-owned subsidiaries and numerous licensees, joint ventures and distributors all over the globe, for instance, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Canada, Japan and South Africa.