Here's How New Balance Went From ‘Dad Shoe’ To Scoring The No. 1 NBA Draft Prospect

Forbes

By signing Cooper Flagg, Shohei Ohtani, Coco Gauff and other young superstars, the 119-year-old sneaker and apparel brand is on a mission to redefine its place in the sports hierarchy.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2025/06/24/how-new-balance-went-from-dad-shoe-to-scoring-the-no-1-nba-draft-prospect/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, how New Balance went from dad's shoe to scoring the number one NBA draft prospect.

00:08In 2023, before Cooper Flagg was the top player in college basketball and the presumptive number

00:14one pick in this year's NBA draft, New Balance chief marketing officer Chris Davis issued an

00:20audacious challenge to one of his top lieutenants. As Naveen Lokesh recalls, his boss dropped a

00:26recent issue of Slam Magazine with Duke's prized freshman on the cover onto his desk and then said

00:31quote, go get this guy. The odds certainly weren't in New Balance's favor. Although just 17 years old

00:38at the time, Flagg had already dazzled scouts for years with his elite athleticism and seemingly

00:44clairvoyant playmaking ability, leading to a reputation as one of the best teenage prospects

00:49this century, alongside other number one draft picks, LeBron James, Zion Williamson, and Victor

00:55Wimbanyama. And that sky-high potential had sneaker companies dreaming of the financial

01:00windfall he could unlock. But while the Boston-based New Balance, which posted $7.8 billion in revenue

01:07last year, could hardly match the resources of Nike, which had $51 billion in 2024 revenue,

01:14or Adidas, which had $26 billion, it did have one edge over the competition. Flagg grew up in

01:20Newport, Maine, about 25 miles east of the privately held New Balance's manufacturing facility in

01:26Scohegan. And the now 18-year-old Phenom tells Forbes he still remembers shopping with his mom

01:32at the factory's annual tent sale for backpacks, clothes, and sneakers every school year.

01:38So when it came time to pitch Flagg at a Calabasas hotel with other sneaker brands waiting outside,

01:44New Balance led with a personal touch, unveiling a tribute video shot at the Scohegan factory that Lokesh

01:50says, quote, let the associates that have been working in Maine for 20 years speak for us.

01:56New Balance was successful, officially announcing Flagg as an ambassador in August.

02:02Yet such a rigorous chase for superstar talent was a bit out of character for the 119-year-old brand.

02:08In fact, the company once ran a campaign with the tagline, quote,

02:12endorsed by no one during the 1990s.

02:14B.C.E. Consulting's Matt Powell, who spent more than 20 years as a sports retail analyst, notes,

02:21quote,

02:21They prided themselves that athletes were choosing to wear their products because it was a good or great product,

02:27not because they were getting paid.

02:30Now, as the sneaker landscape has changed, so has that mentality.

02:35In a bid to redefine its place in the sports hierarchy and reach the next generation of consumers,

02:40New Balance has spent the last 15 years reshaping its marketing strategy,

02:44and athlete ambassadors have played a core role.

02:48The brand now boasts a formidable roster of sports stars,

02:51with two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff in tennis,

02:55three-time MVP Shohei Otani in baseball,

02:58NBA stars Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, and Tyrese Maxey,

03:02and WNBA standout Cameron Brink.

03:05In doing so, New Balance has created a new identity for itself beyond the so-called Dad Shoe,

03:10a historically popular product that Saturday Night Live once parodied with the tagline,

03:16quote,

03:16Shoes made for running, but worn by chubby white guys in their late 30s to early 40s.

03:22That evolution has also fueled growth for New Balance's top line,

03:25which last year more than quadrupled from the $1.8 billion it posted in 2010.

03:31More recently, from 2022 to 2024,

03:34the brand grew global revenue 27% collectively across its baseball, basketball, football,

03:40and tennis categories.

03:42That rise coincides with Goff's first major victory at the U.S. Open,

03:46the signings of Otani, who won a World Series last year,

03:49Brink and Maxey,

03:51and Murray's NBA championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

03:55The growth also plays a larger role in driving consumers to the brand's lifestyle sneakers and apparel,

04:00an area where the industry makes the bulk of its money.

04:03Overall, Forbes estimates New Balance's sports footwear segment,

04:07which includes performance, lifestyle, and outdoor offerings,

04:10grew 50% from $4.4 billion to $6.6 billion worldwide during that period.

04:18For full coverage, check out Justin Birnbaum's piece on Forbes.com.

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