New Balance was founded in 1906 but it wasn’t until 1938 that it joined the running shoe manufacturing industry. This report uses qualitative data to detail the centennial Boston-based shoe company’s ups, downs, and continuing journey to the future.
Top New Balance shoe statistics
- About 80% or about $4.24 billion of the total revenue of New Balance in 2022 is from its footwear section.
- From a $1.35 billion figure in 2008, the shoe brand has soared by 214.1% in 14 years.
- New Balance held 4% of the global shoe industry. In the US, they occupy a 10% market share.
- The company reports an equal 50% to 50% share between its men and women user-end segments in 2022. The proportion was 57% to 43% back in 2017.
- The 2022-23 season of NBA was the strongest showing of New Balance in the last six years. It poised a 2.3% share, making it the 6th most popular brand in the league during that year.
- New Balance produces an average of 16 million pairs of shoes annually in 2021.
- A New Balance shoe weighs 10.5 oz (297g) on average for men and 8.5 oz (240.5g) for women.
- The average price of all New Balance shoes as of 2023 is $108.
- In 2019, the average resale price of a New Balance shoe is $223 while the average price premium is 52%.
- As of 2022, the company was able to use 91% preferred leather and 64% preferred cotton in their manufacturing. The target is 100% by 2025.
New Balance shoe revenue
- In 2022, New Balance achieved its record-high $4.23 billion shoe revenue.
- During this year, NB reported that the revenue from its footwear department is 80% of the entire company’s revenue.
- Way back in 2008, the footwear department of New Balance tallied $1.35 billion.
- The shoe segment during this time takes up 90% of the company’s total revenue.
- Meaning that from 2008-2022, New Balance’s footwear revenue has skyrocketed by 214.1%.
Year |
Revenue in $ billion |
Growth |
2008 |
$1.35 |
|
2022 |
$4.24 |
214.1% |
New Balance shoe market share
- New Balance holds about 4% of the global shoe market.
- In the United States, it enjoys a 10% market portion.
- 6% of the world athletic shoe market is from New Balance. Meanwhile, in the US, it is 3.8%.
- In 2021, 12.7% of the running shoes in the US are from New Balance.
- In terms of trainers, the company has global and US market shares of 7.3% and 3.4% in 2022, respectively.
- Back in 2015, 5.8% of online-bought shoes were New Balance.
Type |
Global share |
US share |
Overall |
4% |
10% |
Athletic shoes |
6% |
3.8% |
Trainers |
7.3% |
3.4% |
Men vs. women user segment in New Balance
- As of 2022, New Balance reports a 50-50 percent sharing between its men and women end-user segments.
- In 2017, the men’s footwear department led with a 57% portion.
- The women’s segment was at 43% in 2017.
- The company also reports that historically, the company’s men’s footwear segment was a dominating 70%.
- Back in 2000, its women segment was only 30%.
Men's and women's market share in New Balance shoes
Year |
%Men |
%Women |
2000 |
70% |
30% |
2017 |
57% |
43% |
2022 |
50% |
50% |
New Balance basketball shoe statistics
- New Balance climbed to the 6th spot of the most popular basketball shoes in the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the 2022-23 season. It grabbed a 2.3% share. This is the strongest showing of the shoe brand in the past six seasons.
- Moreover, during the same season, New Balance Two WXY V3 became the 13th most-worn basketball shoe. A total of 8 players sported them in the ‘22-23 season.
- During the 2021-22 season, New Balance held a 1.4% share in the NBA.
- This is comparatively lower than the 1.5% portion the year prior.
- During this time, Kawhi Leonard’s OMN1S was worn by 6 players including himself. In the 2019-20 season, the OMN1S was sported by only 4 players.
- Back in the 2018-19 season, New Balance struggled with a 0.2% share in the league.
- From 14th place in the ‘18-19 season, New Balance hopped six places to earn the 8th spot in ‘19-20. Its percent share also increased to a 0.9% share.
- Over the past six seasons of the league, New Balance was able to inflate its presence in the NBA by 1050% from 2018 to 2023.
Presence of New Balance basketball shoes in the NBA
Season |
Percent share |
Rank |
2018-19 |
0.2% |
14th |
2019-20 |
0.9% |
8th |
2020-21 |
1.5% |
7th |
2021-22 |
1.4% |
8th |
2022-23 |
2.3% |
6th |
New Balance shoe production
- In 2021, NB reported that they produce 16 million pairs of shoes a year.
- That is equivalent to about 30 pairs of shoes a minute.
- 4 million pairs of NB shoes are manufactured domestically in the US.
- About 70% of NB shoes sold in the US came from China.
- In terms of retail stores, the company shared that it had about 4,000 in 2022.
- This is 14.3% more than the 3,500 stores in 2017.
- New Balance says that their shoes last for 300-500 miles before replacement.
New Balance retail stores worldwide
Year |
No. of retail stores |
Growth |
2017 |
3,500 |
|
2022 |
4,000 |
14.3% |
Average weight of New Balance shoes in 2023
- We analysed 350+ New Balance shoes across multiple categories and found that the average weight of an NB shoe is 10.5 oz (297g) for men.
- For women, a New Balance shoe weighs 8.5 oz or 240.5g on average.
- In running shoes, the men’s average is 9.7 oz (275.5g).
- Meanwhile, the women’s average is 8.1 oz (228.7g).
- Additionally, the average NB walking shoe weighs 21.1 oz (342.7g) for men and 9.4 oz (267.4g) for women.
- The mean weight of a men’s training shoe from New Balance is 10.1 oz (284.9g). A women’s training shoe, on the other hand, weighs 8.3 oz (235.7) on average.
Average weight of New Balance shoes in oz
Type |
Men |
Women |
Overall |
10.5 |
8.5 |
Running shoes |
9.7 |
8.1 |
Walking shoes |
12.1 |
9.4 |
Training shoes |
10.1 |
8.3 |
New Balance shoe price statistics
- As of 2023, the average price of all New Balance shoes on the RunRepeat database is $108.
- For running shoes, the mean price tag is $120.4. This is 6.1% more affordable than an average running shoe ($127.7).
- New Balance walking shoes’ average price of $102 is 17% pricier compared to the mean price tag of all walking shoes ($87.2) in the RunRepeat database.
- On the other hand, the average cost of an NB training shoe is $94.1. Meanwhile, an average training shoe costs $102.6 which is 9% more expensive.
- For the trainers, the mean price of New Balance is $105.1. Furthermore, an average sneaker costs $102.6 which is 2.4% less.
- In 1982, NB990 became the first sneaker to retail for $100.
- Notably, about 39% of all New Balance shoes today cost less than $100.
- The average resale price of a New Balance shoe is $223.
- The average price premium for a second-hand New Balance shoe is 52%.
- In 2022, the secondary shoe market of NB experienced a 61% year-over-year increase. Some models resold for a whopping 387% premium.
Average prices of New Balance shoes in 2023
Type |
Average price |
Overall |
$108.0 |
Running shoes |
$120.4 |
Walking shoes |
$102.0 |
Training shoes |
$94.1 |
New Balance sustainability
- The company aims to use 100% preferred leather and 100% preferred cotton in its footwear and apparel segments by the year 2025.
- As of 2022, New Balance was able to utilise 91% preferred leather.
- They were also 64% into the integration of preferred cotton in the manufacturing process.
- Meanwhile, 44% of the polyester that the company used in 2022 were preferred polyester materials.
- Their target was to use 50% preferred polyester by 2025.
New Balance sustainable goals
2022 |
2025* |
|
Preferred leather |
91% |
100% |
Preferred cotton |
64% |
100% |
Recycled polyester |
44% |
50% |
*Target
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