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New Balance Boise |
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Shoes That Fit Better, Perform Better. |
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New Balance Boise |
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New Balance Boise opened on March 4, 2006. We are an independently and locally owned dealer for the New Balance Athletic shoe company. Everything you find in our store is licensed by New Balance©. At New Balance we pride ourselves in carrying in stock the widest selection of New Balance Shoes, apparel and accessories you will find in the Treasure Valley.
Our mission is to provide the citizens of the Treasure Valley area the best shoe shopping experience possible. We understand that no two feet are alike and that is why we carry shoes from a Women’s size 5 to Men’s size 18 and widths from 4A (Extra narrow) to 6E (Extra Extra Extra Wide). When you step into our store be prepared to experience the “Old Fashioned” way of selling shoes. Our Procare trained Fit Technicians will sit down with you, measure your feet, and find the perfect fit for you. |
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New Balance Athletic Shoe Company |
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New Balance Athletic Shoe Company was founded in 1906, by a 33 year old English immigrant named William J. Riley. He created the company with the intention of helping people with feet problems by making arch supports and prescription footwear to improve shoe fit.
In 1934, William Riley took partnership with his most skillful salesman, Arthur Hall. Mr. Hall found a place in the shoe market where Riley's shoes could be sold fruitfully. He was highly successful selling arch supports to policemen and other people whose jobs demanded to be stand in their feet for a long time.
In 1954 Arthur Hall sold his business to his daughter and son-in-law, Eleanor and Paul Kidd. They kept selling arch supports and prescription footwear, until they manufactured "The Trackster", the first performance running shoe made with a ripple sole, which was available in various widths. The majority of the sales were made through mail order purchases from local high schools and colleges because no other attempt was made to market the shoe.
"The invention of the first running shoe also gave New Balance a growing reputation of manufacturing innovative and specialized shoes."
In 1970 Paul Kidd was ready to retire and sell his company, and that's when Jim Davis, a 28 year old graduate of Middlebury College , appeared. He had worked as a sale representative of a medical electronics company for two years. By 1972 he decided to fulfill his dream of running his own company, and that same year Davis bought New Balance for $ 100,000. When Jim Davis acquired the company, it consisted of six people making 30 pairs of shoes per day. A few years later Jim's wife joined the company and Boston became one of the centers of the running boom that occurred in the 70´s, a perfect combination for New Balance growth. In a very short time Davis saw himself marketing a highly popular product, and in charge of a company whose sales sky rocked. Annual sales increased from $ 221,583 in 1973, to more than $4 million in 1977. In 1989, Davis's leading executives told him to close the company's manufacturing facilities in U.S.A and move them overseas. New Balance's competitors had done it, because of the fact that production overseas was cheaper. But there was no one able to persuade Davis, he insisted in keeping the production facilities close to the headquarters. By the 1990 New Balance was a flourishing enterprise recording important gains. Annual sales grew to $474 million in 1996, ranking the company as one of the top six best-selling footwear brands in the world. In 1998 New Balance had transformed into one of the five leading athletic footwear brands. Demand for New Balance's shoes had increased at such a level that the company was obliged to subcontract a portion of its manufacturing facilities overseas. “We have come a long way. We’ve climbed higher than anyone ever thought possible and we are still climbing. Our challenge is continuous. We must continue to raise the bar, to think out of the box, to do things nobody else has done.” -Jim Davis |
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The original “Trackster” |