Swot Analysis Of New Balance

Strength One of the greatest strengths of New Balance is having strong brand equity. Being known as one of the oldest sportswear companies in the world, New Balance has its name established for having high quality and innovation products with strong emphasis in research and development. For instance, the brand differentiates its products from competitors with technical innovations such as a mixture of heel counter, gel insole and greater sizes selection for different type of feet, specifically for very wide or very narrow widths. In terms of technology, New Balance uses 3D printed midsole technology to create customized shoes for elite runners, based on an their personal inputs and biomechanics(16). New Balance’s brand pillar “athlete first”

In contrast to New Balance, big brands such as Nike, Adidas and Reebok have lower manufacturing cost. These brands design products in the United States and Europe, but manufacture them in developing nations such as China, Vietnam, India and etc. Hence, these brands have a competitive advantage in terms of low production cost, resulting in higher profit margins compared to New Balance. On the other hand, New Balance has poor communication and marketing strategies. The brand has limited presence in emerging country such as Asia due to limited distribution channel. In Asia, New Balance is seen as a lifestyle brand rather than a performance driven brand. Additionally, New Balance has limited brand awareness, especially on social media due to its “endorsed by no one” policy in the past. This has caused a lose out on publicity for New Balance from major global events. Endorsing famous athletes and celebrities in major sport events would give the sport brands the needed momentum to carry their brand name further into the global market. This year, the brand started to join the endorsement game by featuring 17 pro-athletes in its ‘Always in Beta’ campaign(19). Despite its endorsement initiative, it is not easy for New Balance to compete against its major rival such as Nike because Nike has a solid partnership with a number of high profile athletes such as

For example, some women wear yoga pants for a night out after work and businessmen wear sneakers to board meetings. The sportswear market has been shifting to target fashion-oriented crowds. Hence, this could be a good opportunity for New Balance to take advantage of the athleisure trend by establishing new product ranges such as the fashion apparel for the new emerging market, especially the millennial. New Balance faces also faces intense competition from its rivals, especially Nike in terms of technology. Nike is known for its training apps. Have an advance technology will help the brand increase its product quality and performance while shorten its supply chain, minimise production cost. To attract new customers, New Balance has to keep up in the technology driven world. For example, New Balance is partnering with some major technology companies such as Google, Intel, Strava and Zepp to develop digital experiences and wearable technologies for athletes by launching the smart watch by end of 2016. Due to the rise of global soccer trend, New Balance started to sponsor some prominent teams such as Liverpool, Stoke City, Sevilla and Porto. This is a great opportunity for the brand to battle against Nike and Adidas in global supremacy in the sport. Considering the growth of e-commerce in the current market, especially in India, this is the platform where New Balance should also focus on