NEW BALANCE SHOES

Konasports.com is your online source for New Balance Shoes and accessories. We carry an extensive selection of New Balance Shoes and Sneakers, including New Balance running shoes, walking shoes, cross-training shoes, tennis shoes and more. We carry New Balance Sneakers in all sizes (1-20) and widths (4A-6E) so you get the styles you want in the size and fit you need. New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (NBAS) is a footwear manufacturer based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch Support Company. Despite eschewing expensive advertising campaigns, it has grown to become the fourth-ranked maker of sports footwear in the world. New Balance is notable in that it has continued to manufacture a portion of its footwear in the United States (as of 2007). This is unlike its competitors in the same market space, such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. History In 1906, William J. Riley, a 33 year old English immigrant, founded the New Balance Arch Support Company, which manufactured arch supports and other accessories designed to improve shoe fit, in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1934, Riley took on as a partner his top salesman, Arthur Hall, who had found his niche by marketing his products to policemen and other people whose jobs required them to spend a lot of time standing. In 1956, Hall sold the business to his daughter Eleanor and her husband Paul Kidd. Eleanor and Paul continued to sell mainly arch supports until 1961, when they designed and manufactured the "Trackster," the world's first running shoe made with a ripple sole. It was also the first running shoe to come in varying widths. The Trackster became the shoe of choice for running coaches and fitness directors, and led to New Balance's growing reputation for manufacturing innovative and specialized footwear in multiple widths. A century after William Riley made the first New Balance Sneakers products in Boston, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. still remains committed to making shoes in the United States. Today, about one quarter of New Balance shoes are American-made. There are two active factories in Massachusetts and three in Maine; and one supplier has a factory in California that assembles only NB products. In fact, while other manufacturers have moved entirely overseas, New Balance has added 45% more U.S. manufacturing jobs since 1995. We believe most consumers think "Made in USA" means that real manufacturing jobs were provided to U.S. workers in order to make that product. The shoes produced in our U.S. factories are made by U.S. workers using both U.S. and imported materials. Where the level of domestic value is at least 70%, we have labeled the shoe "Made in USA." Where it falls below that level, we have qualified it as containing both domestic and imported materials. This determination is based in part on a survey of consumers conducted by the FTC.Visit Newbalance.com