New Balance Sales Reach Record $7.8 Billion in 2024, CEO Joe Preston Says
New Balance president and chief executive officer Joe Preston told an audience at National Retail Federation’s Big Show conference on Monday that the company closed 2024 on a high note.
According to Preston, the Boston, Mass.-based athletic company achieved global annual sales of $7.8 billion, a 20 percent increase from the prior year.
“This is the fourth consecutive year that we’ve had over 20 percent growth in sales,” Preston told the audience. “Quite frankly, we could be bigger if we wanted to, but we use a selective distribution approach to manage the brand and not oversaturate.”
This comes after New Balance hit $6.5 billion in sales in 2023 as the privately held company works its way to a broader goal to become a $10 billion brand in the “next few years.”
Preston, who accepted the Company of the Year award on behalf of New Balance at the 2024 FNAAs, noted that New Balance has achieved more than a 20 percent growth rate in every major market across the world since 2020.
But behind the strong results in 2024 were a series of product wins, as well as strategic investments in athlete partnerships and strong wholesale partnerships. During Preston’s discussion on Monday, the moderator highlighted New Balance’s partnership with Foot Locker after its CEO Mary Dillon said the brand helped contribute to its bottom line.
“Mary Dillon and Foot Locker have been a great partner for us for a long time, and one of our best customers today,” Preston said. “The way we try to manage the marketplace here in the U.S., or anywhere around the globe, is making sure we show up how we want to show up. If we are stuck in the corner, then the customer is not going to be able to experience our brand. And retailers that we work with, we work with them to make sure that the brand is coming to play, whether that’s in store or online.”
Preston also reiterated that its “think global, but act local” approach to grow its business in different regions is really working. New Balance does 35 percent of its business in North America and the rest in countries around the globe. The goal is for 80 percent of brand messaging and expression to be the same across all regions, with about 20 percent given for leeway with specialization based on the region.
“Obviously, some markets are more important than others,” Preston said. “Western Europe is a big market for us, North Asia is a very big market for us as well. But our top selling styles, for the most part, are the top selling styles everywhere in the global. Sure, some of that minor differences can also be due to the fact that you’ve got different seasons at different times of the year in the southern hemisphere versus the north. So, we try to combine that. We’re trying to run one plan.”