On Dec. 8, New Balance will be honored as Athletic Brand of the Year at the first virtual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 7 print issue about its winning strategy in 2020.
“Pivot with purpose” — that’s the motto New Balance CEO and president Joe Preston emphasized as he spoke with FN in November, while looking back on everything 2020 threw the brand’s way.
While thousands of labels worked to adjust their branding to the pandemic, New Balance stood out from the pack by tapping into its existing superpowers.
“Being a global brand and having leaders all around the world, we have found a way to bring everybody together,” explained Preston. “It’s helped us to communicate, collaborate and operate with the speed and efficiency that, quite frankly, is at another level.”
It wasn’t always a smooth process. Like many companies during the pandemic, the label was faced with the difficult decision to furlough its associates in April, a move that did not weight lightly on Preston.