New Balance opened its first U.S. flagship store on Friday as part of the brand’s push for experience-oriented shopping experiences of its American-made sneakers.
Located in the company’s Boston headquarters, the flagship store offers women’s training and studio products, baseball, tennis and soccer footwear-apparel, lifestyle footwear and apparel, and kids’ footwear. The center of the store features a “Made.Boston” demonstration and shoe assembly area, where visitors can see the making of limited-edition New Balance 574 sneakers.
Boston Red Sox players Brock Holt and Christian Vazquez visited the store prior to the opening for a private event with five children from the West End House Boys and Girls Club, which is supported by the New Balance Foundation.
“The store experienced a successful opening weekend, with strong sales and steady shopper traffic, driven by local marketing efforts and news coverage. Apparel was a particular highlight, as many consumers were impressed by the variety, styling, and quality of the head-to-toe product offering,” said a New Balance spokesperson. “The Made.Boston demonstration and shoe assembly area was another major draw, both as a visually striking presence in the center of the store, and as a point of interest to learn about the process of making shoes.”
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The first global New Balance flagship store opened this spring in Gangnam, South Korea, and four more will open later this year, in San Francisco, London, Milan and Tokyo. The Boston Landing store also features NB1 Customization Bars, where consumers use iPads to design their own NB1 custom 574,998, or 990v3 shoes, which are made in Lawrence, Mass., and shipped directly to the consumer.
“We are excited to open this store in Boston Landing that pays tribute to our heritage and spirit, celebrates our innovation and sets a new precedent for the high standard of retail excellence we have established with our New Balance Experience Stores in Boston, New York, and Beijing among others.” said Rob DeMartini, president and CEO of New Balance. “This store invites residents and visitors to our home city to engage with our brand’s story and the passion of our associates.“
On June 21, New Balance opened a new distribution center in St. Louis to further support the company’s global e-commerce business. Earlier this month, the sportswear brand celebrated Global Running Day with company-wide associate-led runs across 23 international locations.
