Key Points

New Balance reported a 19% increase in sales for 2025, reaching $9.2 billion, a growth rate that surpassed both the global athletic footwear market and industry giants like Nike. CEO Joe Preston attributed the company's success to its consumer-centric approach, respecting how, where, and when customers choose to shop. The company is on track to achieve its goal of $10 billion in annual sales by the end of this year.

Reasons Behind the Sales Surge The 120-year-old, Boston-based private footwear brand shared its 2025 performance exclusively. Beyond the significant growth last year, the company indicated it is poised to hit the $10 billion annual revenue milestone this year. In an interview, New Balance CEO Joe Preston stated: "We are undoubtedly competitive. However, we are committed to ensuring that business quality remains our top priority as we reach and surpass this goal. We aim for substantial growth, not just expansion for its own sake, and we are delivering on our promise to be a premium brand. This has been our global focus for the past five years."

Since 2020, New Balance sales have skyrocketed by 180%, making it one of the few standout competitors achieving major business expansion. Concurrently, Nike, while adjusting its business model, has lost significant market share. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nike aggressively pursued a direct-to-consumer strategy, severing long-standing wholesale partnerships to expand through its own websites and stores. While this move briefly boosted sales and promised higher margins, it left substantial shelf space vacant at core retailers, which was quickly filled by brands like New Balance, Brooks Running, On, and Deckers.

By over-focusing on building a direct-sales system—a more complex model than wholesale distribution—Nike fell behind in innovation and lost its edge in performance footwear, creating more opportunities for competitors like New Balance. Former Nike CEO John Donahoe attributed the company's innovation slowdown to remote work during the pandemic. However, Preston said the global crisis actually brought his team together in new ways to implement fresh strategies. "We established a weekly Tuesday 7:30 AM meeting, a practice we maintain to this day, which enabled us to launch a global offensive... We emerged from the pandemic stronger than any other company in our industry," Preston said. "While market turbulence and Nike's situation are real, I don't believe they are the primary reasons for our ascent."

Preston emphasized that the key to gaining market share has been closely following consumer demand and respecting their shopping preferences regarding method, timing, and channel. He noted that New Balance's growth is widespread across regions and product categories, supported by an aggressive store expansion plan—adding 80 new stores in 2025 alone. Although physical stores are significant revenue drivers, they involve high costs and take time to become profitable. When questioned about profitability details, New Balance declined to disclose specifics, leaving the impact of these investments on profits and the sustainability of the high growth rate unclear.

After operating for over a century, New Balance has also learned from Nike's playbook. The company stated that a key driver of its growth has been successfully positioning itself as a premium brand, a strategy central to Nike's evolution into an approximately $500 billion giant. This means New Balance exercises caution in both distribution channels and discounting. Over the past five years, its average selling price has increased by about 30%, while many competitors have relied on promotions to drive sales during the same period. Timing has also been favorable. In the post-pandemic era, 1990s styles have become extremely popular among younger consumers. New Balance, with its classic 'dad shoe' DNA from the 90s, has successfully attracted a younger demographic that did not grow up wearing the brand, as well as consumers who view sneakers as fashion items rather than just for sports or fitness.

Simultaneously, endorsements from top athletes, including Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, tennis phenom Coco Gauff, and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, have significantly boosted the performance footwear business. Looking ahead to the next year, New Balance plans to expand existing product lines, introduce new items, and place greater emphasis on sales in the professional sports category. The company also aims to continue increasing the proportion of its direct-to-consumer business by opening stores in strategic regions. Although the direct-sales strategy proved challenging for Nike, Preston stated his approach is fundamentally different. "We do not set internal targets for the direct-to-consumer share of our business," Preston said. "Our goal is to be the best, not to make direct sales the largest segment. I don't want to go against consumer shopping habits; we aim to support how customers prefer to shop and simply perfect that experience."