We asked Robert Ward, Category Lifestyle Manager of europe, for an interview – and we got it. Robert Ward is responsible for the products of the entire european Lifestyle segment and therefore he  could give us an exclusive view into the company.

Wir haben für euch den Category Lifestyle Manager Europas, Robert Ward, um ein Interview gebeten – und es nun bekommen. Robert Ward ist für die Produkte im Lifestyle Segment Europas verantwortlich und konnte uns deshalb einen exklusiven Einblick in das Unternehmen geben.

Hi Robert, you are the Category Manager for the european Lifestyle Unit. What’s your role about within the New Balance Family?

As Category Manager, I oversee the product created for the European marketplace, and have general responsibility for the ‘numbers’, ie working with various departments including sales, finance, operations & demand planning to make sure we do everything we can to grow our business in the right way and achieve our budget. On the product side, it’s very much a team effort, I work with a small team of designers, developers and product managers here in our European office near Manchester, England, to create a seasonal product collection that hopefully meets the needs of all our consumers across Europe. We also work closely with our global product team counterparts in the US and Japan to merchandise the best of their product into our regional collection.

What are the main differences between NB and the other Sneakerbrands?

New Balance has a very interesting heritage, and some great ‘points of difference’ that give us our unique niche in the global sneaker marketplace. For a start, we have a strong legacy, having been founded way back in 1906, and are very much known for our ‘running shoe’ heritage. Running is what New Balance has always done best, and our technological innovation combined with our unique ‘width fitting system’ within our performance product line stands up against anyone else in the industry. We’re also still a private company which gives us a certain flexibility about the decisions we make and how we do our business, for instance the fact that we still manufacture many of our products domestically in our own factories in the US and Europe.

You said that one major difference is that NB built their shoes still in the United Kingdom. Why are you still doing this?

Not many still do, we’re one of the last few remaining. However, our owner Jim Davis still very much believes in supporting the domestic workforces in the US and the UK, giving back to the local communities where we have a presence, and utilising the skills and traditions of footwear manufacturers that have existed in these regions for many many years. It’s a unique point about New Balance, and for the last few years has been one of the core pillars in which our high end European lifestyle footwear collection has been built around, something that those who work for the company are very proud to be a part of.

What’s your favourite Made in UK Style and why?

It changes with the wind! There’s so many diamonds to choose from, it depends what kind of mood you wake up in, but whilst models like the 576 and 1500 would be right up there, it’s probably the 1300 with it’s rich history, technically innovative past, and simplicity of shape that has to make it my all time favourite.

NB takes care of a special distribution policy. Why don’t you sell every style to every store?

We don’t ever want to come across as too elitist or niche, and are constantly looking at ways that we can appeal to a broader audience and stay relevant to new generations of sneaker fans coming through of all different ages, however we also know that we have to protect certain products from over saturation, and always make sure that the product fits the retail environment it’s in. Like many of our competitors, we have various different tiers of distribution, with the idea that we keep some special treats aside for our top independent stores each season, to give them an element of exclusivity and keep things fresh for the guys who made NB the brand it is today. Whilst also ensuring we have plenty of good commercial, trend based product lower down the chain for a slightly more mainstream audience where we can really grow the business. We don’t want to sell out and become an overnight flash in the pan success with a boom and bust strategy, we’ve learnt from our mistakes in the past, but at the same time we want to grow, so it’s a fine balance to make sure you manage the collection accordingly to try to keep everyone happy!

You are responsible for entire Europe. What are the main differences between the european markets?

Every market is different, and even within a market you can travel from North to South, or even city to city, and see totally different brands, trends, colours, silhouettes and subcultures going on at any one time. You could make some generalisations and say that the Southern European, Mediterranean markets are a bit more fashion based, where a broader variety of colour is needed and lower profiles are still strong, whereas the Northern European countries are perhaps more sneaker and heritage purity based, but really it’s impossible to generalise without sounding patronising. If you want to appeal to a large pan-European audience, which we, do we have to make sure we’re dialled in with all the local market needs, have good people feeding information in to us all the time, travel the region as much as possible to avoid getting stale and chained to the office desk, but ultimately deciding what you want to be as a brand and making sure you stay true to your roots and committed to your personality in the face of the unavoidable critics who might prefer you to tread an alternative path to the one you’ve decided to take. That’s something NB have always been strong about and committed to, and one we don’t intend to change anytime soon!

What do you like or appreciate at the german market?

Currywurst mit Pommes!!! Just kidding, although it is always the highlight of any German market visit! Germany’s got so much variety going on, people really should visit it more often, and as a country it’s a classic example of the comments I made earlier about the difference between North and South, East and West. You can see such contrasts, ranging from the high end sophisticated fashion stores in the South which are closely aligned to the best of the Italian market, to the cutting edge streetwear and urban trends that are driven out of cities like Berlin, and then the cool modern commerciality executed to perfection in places like Frankfurt, Dusseldorf or Hamburg. You could spend a week travelling through Germany and cover off pretty much all European trends without having to leave the country borders, and all the people seem to have that perfect ‘work hard, play hard’ mentality!

NB is famous for their limited Editions or collaborations with artists or shops. Can you give us some special informations about upcoming limited Editions or Collabos?

We have a network of high end retailers across Europe and indeed all over the globe that have been very loyal and supportive to the NB brand over the years, so our partnership programme is about giving them something back for their support. It works both ways, both the brand and the store gets plenty of benefit, and it really helps spread the word of our Made in UK USP to consumers who care about New Balance’s quality and premium craftsmanship.

Our brand father Jim Davis said once – our goal is not to be the biggest, but to be the best – What does that mean to you?

New Balance stands for quality, and we would never want to compromise what has taken over 100 years to cultivate, just for the sake of making a quick buck in the short term. We’re realistic to know we’re not the scale of some of our major brand competitors, and whilst we’re hungry for growth and want to become a lot more successful, we also want to do it with a long term approach. When consumers are asked about New Balance in 100 years time, hopefully we’ll still be around, still drawing the same responses that we do today, and that we did 100 years ago, which is that we’re a brand that stands first and foremost for ideals such as quality, fit, performance & integrity. If staying true to these roots and being the best means that we also become the biggest, then great!

Thank you Robert, for this interesting interview.

No problem guys, thank you!

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