OT ANALYSIS ON New Balance Athletic Shoe
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (NBAS), best known as simply New Balance, is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company. Eschewing expensive advertising campaigns, it has nevertheless grown to be one of the largest makers of sports footwear in the world.
New Balance is notable in that it has continued to maintain a manufacturing presence in the United States as well as in the United Kingdom for the European market—in contrast to its competitors in the same market space, such as Nike and Adidas, who design products in the US and Europe, but purchase the majority of their Footwear and Apparel from manufacturers in China, Vietnam, and other developing nations. The result of this corporate decision is that the shoes tend to be more expensive than New Balance’s competitors. To offset this pricing discrepancy, New Balance differentiates their products with technical innovations , such as a blend of gel inserts, heel counters, and a greater selection of sizes, particularly for very narrow and/or very wide widths.
Strengths
* Cost advantage
* Asset leverage
* Effective communication
* High R&D
* Innovation
* Online growth
* Loyal customers
* Market share leadership
* Strong management team
* Strong brand equity
