We asked Tetsuya, Men’s Lifestyle Product Manager of New Balance Japan, a few questions about the Feral Creation Collection which was released three days ago. You can have a look on the interview in the >Restricted Area<. Just sign in and get some exclusive informations. To see some pictures from the release just check the article in the >Events< section. There you can also find the list of traders in Germany who will get the Feral Creation Collection. Worldwide release is Sep. 9th.

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Dawn Brankley is the “Assistant Product Merchandising Manager for Kids and Lifestyle” for New Balance. We asked her to answer a few questions about her work at the New Balance. Here’s what she got to say:

Hi Dawn, what´s your role about within the New Balance Family ?

I am the product and merchandising manager for the EMEA kids category. I work closely with the design and development teams to create kids footwear for New Balance and also work with the global team to merchandise cool product for the region.

Why do you think is the Kids segment so important to New Balance?

Kids are the future, as New Balance is an expert in sports footwear we encourage kids to be active so that they grow up being healthy.

What´s your favourite Kids Style and why ?

My favourite NB kids style is the 576, we have some fantastic bright coloured shoes arriving for Spring Summer 2010 that follow-up from the autumn winter collection.

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?

Creating kids footwear with new balance is great as we have a dedicated team specialising in creating the best NB shoes. Working as a team is key to creating the best!!

Thank you very much for your time.

No problem, thank you.

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Till Jagla, Lifestyle Manager von New Balance, erklärt das >Global SMU Projekt<. We stellten ihm ein paar Fragen über dieses neue Programm und er war so nett, darüber das allererste mal zu sprechen. Wenn ihr nun mehr über die ganze Sachen wissen wollt, dann lockt euch in die “Restricted Area” ein und schaut euch das interview an.

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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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In Italien steht das Modell 991 ganz hoch im Kurs der New Balance Fans. In dieser Saison verkaufte NB-Italien so viele Schuhe wie lange nicht mehr und das war nicht zuletzt der Verdienst des 991. Wir interviewten Nicola Mercatali, der verantwortlich für die NB Produkte und Vermarktung ist, und er stand uns Rede und Antwort.

Hello Nicola, what is New Balance in Italy all about?

New Balance in Italy is back. We will reach this year the same numbers of our best past season which was 2002, but with less of the half of clearance respect to 2002, so the situation for us is much more better. Looking at the past to understand why NB Phenomenom came out in Italy we have to go back to the late 90ies when the Vintage Trend emerged in the fashion world, probably linked also to the economic crisis of that period which was for sure one of the main causes which touched off the phenonenom of recovering old fashion vogues: 70ies, 80ies and 90ies. New Balance was immediately recognized by trend setters as an Heritage Vintage Sneakers Brand. We quickly grew from 4.000 pairs in 1996 to the NB boom registered in 2000, 2001 and 2002 (more than 100 times more). NB 574 entered in the Top 5 sneakers ranking in Italy. Soon other brands came out with their vintage collections – Puma, Adidas, Nike, Converse – and other phenomenon brands exploded in our market: Munich, Onitsuka Tiger, Kawasaki, Superga,… So NB lost some position in the Fashion Sneakers Ranking, but always appealed the young adult consumer for quality and comfort and for the Heritage Brand we represent.

So what do you think, brought you back in position?

It was definitly thank to a quality and comfortable sneaker that we come back between the top brands: THE 991. The Sporting Goods stores are suffering more than the others the crisis we are living, but NB become a successfull brand in the high fashion stores, clothing stores and shoe stores. Sport but Classic at the same time, and above all a quality heritage brand Made in UK. That was one of the secret for the return of NB at the feet of trendy consumers. The 991 became the Rolls Royce of the sneakers between fashion consumers, and above all between the young adult subtle consumers who wants to distinguish theirselves from the younger consumers who wear Onitsuka Tiger, Converse and other kind of brands and products.

Who do you think wears the 991?

Lots or Deejays from the most refined and trendy Radio like Radio DJ started wearing 991, and also lots of trendy adults like Montezemolo – President of Ferrari, Della Valle – President of Hogan and Tod’s and of Fiorentina FC, and De Laurentiis – President of Napoli’s Football Club and of the most important Italian Movie Production Company were shooted with 991 at their feet. In the cinemas 991 is one of the most seen shoes. At the feet of Richard Gere in a couple of movies, George Clooney in “Burn After Reading”, or at the feet of the young protagonist of 27 dresses, and so on…

What makes the 991 so different?

The 991 became in the last two years an Iconic Sneaker for that Target and if in the late 90ies the boom of NB was mainly linked to THE 574 now we can say that the renaissance of the brand happend thanks to THE 991. We also were able to maintain a clean distibution thanks to the TIERING System which every Sales Representative follows very carefully. So THE 991 is a Premium Shoe which can be found only in our Top Stores. The success of THE 991 grow quickly also thanks to the additional colours we added to the original basic line which was made up just of the Grey, Navy and Black.

What are the plans for the future of the 991?

For the next Fall/Winter season for example there will be three family of 991 in Italy:

-991 Luxury Full Leather made up using two different full grain premium leather in two typical winter colours: Dark Brown and Black

-991 Nubuck Metallic Nylon made up mixing tumbled nubuck with metallic nylon to match the actual trend of techy-jackets. In 4 colours: Dark Green, Brown, Dark Grey and Blue Navy.

-991 Suede Mesh where you can find the traditional grey, navy and black but also the dark grey, the mid brown, the fossil grey, the white and other new colours which became famous like the core ones.

For the Future we want to enrich THE 991 using new materials, like the mix of satin pigskin suede, limonta canvas and grain leather we will put in the Q110 Luxury TIER 1 of 991, and we are also working on a possible SMU designed by important shoe store like Tassinari, Bologna.

But we think that a part of the success of THE 991 is the fact that we never advertised it, because the young adult urban consumer (25-54 years old) likes the 991 because of its selective distribution and because it is a shoe for authentic cognoscenti who are able to appreciate the quality of materials and manufacturing, and the comfort of this shoe. We don’t want it at the feet of younger consumers who buy sneakers just for the trend, and thanks to the distribution and the productplacement we are doing, it will never happen.

Thank you a lot Nicola, for your time and all the informations.

Thank you! Enjoy the Bread & Butter and above all enjoy the fantastic town called Berlin!

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Für die Schuhexperten von Sneakerblog.net stellte sich Till Jagla, Lifestyle Manager bei New Balance Deutschland, einem Interview zur Verfügung. Anlässlich zweier runder Jubiläen der Serien 577 und 420 wollte man einiges genauer wissen. Doch mit den exklusiven Infos nicht genug, es gibt auch noch was zu gewinnen: bis zum 12.07.09 findet eine Verlosung von New Balance Sneakern statt.

Doch lest selbst was der Sneakerblog schreibt:

Es ist wieder soweit! Dieses mal konnten wir drei paar der im Juli erscheinenden New Balance Modelle 577 und 420 zur Verlosung für euch organisieren. Verlost werden dabei je ein mal der 577 in den beiden Farbkombis sowie ein 420er nach Wahl. Alle Bilder der neuen Modelle findet ihr nach dem Klick! Wer mehr über die beiden Modelle und aktuelles von New Balance erfahren will, dem legen wir unser Interview mit Till Jagla ans Herz!

Zur Teilnahme schickt wie immer eine Mail bis zum 12.07.09 mit eurer Adresse, Schuhgröße und natürlich dem Schuh, den ihr gerne gewinnen würdet an newbalance@sneakerblog.net! Die Gewinner werden wie immer per Mail benachrichtigt!

Das Interview mit Till Jagla, Lifestyle Manager Deutschland:

New Balance feiert dieses Jahr gleich zwei große Jubiläen: der 577er wird zwanzig, der 420er sogar dreißig. Für uns Grund genug, um Till Jagla, Lifestyle-Manager von New Balance etwas genauer über geplante Releases und Neuigkeiten rund um die Marke auszufragen.

Hallo Till! Wie immer in unseren Interviews eine Frage vorweg: welchen Schuh trägst du?

Ich trage im Moment den 670er aus dem Film „Crank 2: High Voltage“, den New Balance Red Devil. Ein ganz feines Gerät !

Du bist Lifestyle-Manager bei New Balance – was genau ist deine Aufgabe?

Die Aufgabe besteht eigentlich aus 2 Teilen, zum einen dem Sales / Vertrieb Bereich und zum anderen dem Marketing Part. Im Sales Bereich kümmere ich mich um die Preis-, Produkt- und die Distributionspolitik der Marke im Fashionbereich. Wenn wir dann die richtigen Stores mit den richtigen Schuhen versorgt haben kommt das Marketing ins Spiel. Die Hauptaufgabe ist, dass nicht nur wir wissen, dass wir super Produkte anbieten !!! Die Sneakerblogs sind hierfür natürlich extrem wichtig.

Overall ist heutzutage das Wichtigste, Sorge dafür zu tragen, dass eine Marke so nachhaltig wie möglich geführt wird.

Zwei Klassiker von New Balance feiern dieses Jahr ein rundes Jubiläum – der 577er und der 420er. Kannst du uns ein paar geschichtliche Hintergründe zu den Modellen geben? Was zeichnet die beiden aus?

Klar! Der 577er feiert dieses Jahr seinen 20jährigen Geburtstag und wird in den authentischen NB Colourways neu aufgelegt. Der Schuh, der aus seiner (Performance) Zeit als einer der technisch hochwertigsten Laufschuhe bekannt war, findet heutzutage bei den Sammlern viele Fans. Wenn man den 577er mal genau unter die „Lupe“ nimmt, erkennt man viele technologische Features, wie z.B. eine absorbierende EVA Sohle, eine Nahtreduzierung im Innenbereich, eine Fersenkappe zur Stabilisierung oder eine zweigeteilte Sohleneinheit, um höchsten Komfort zu gewährleisten. Selbstverständlich wird auch dieser 577er wieder in unseren Produktionsstätten in England (Flimby, Lake District) per Hand gefertigt. Beim 420er handelt es sich natürlich auch um einen sehr authentischen NB Klassiker. Damals sollten die Funktionen des 420er die Aufgabe erfüllen, dem Träger ein komfortables Laufgefühl mit viel Dämpfung und Stabilität zu gewährleisten. Die verbaute EVA Sohleneinheit bietet all das, was man von einem bequemen Sneaker erwartet. Weiterhin zählt der 420er mit gerade mal 235 Gramm zu den Leichtgewichten in dem Markt. Und nicht zuletzt: die Farbvielfalt garantiert immer den richtigen Sneaker zum richtigen Outfit bzw. Anlass.

Der 577er wird im Juli in den beiden Original-Colorways released, der 420er in insgesamt elf Farbkombinationen – wie kam es zu diesen Entscheidungen?

Beim 577er handelt es sich um einen Schuh, der sehr selektiv vertrieben wird, d.h. im Rahmen der Distributionspolitik wird geschaut, wo die absoluten Sammler und Sneakeraddicts einkaufen. Hier wird es den 577er geben. Und um schon mal einen Spannungsbogen aufzubauen… Im nächsten Januar wird es dann insgesamt 4 Colourways geben. Plus die „Limited Editions“ die wir im Rahmen des „ Global Special Make Up“ Projekt releasen werden. Diese sind dann noch schwerer zu bekommen.

Der 420er ist für uns ein absoluter Glücksfall gewesen und hat uns damit viele Türen geöffnet. Aufgrund der Silhouette wird dieser mehr nachgefragt und somit auch in vielen trendigen Farben auf dem Markt zu finden sein.

Ab dem 15. Juli soll es ein Lifestyle-Blog von New Balance geben – was erwartet uns auf der Website?

Die Nachfrage in Bezug auf New Balance wird immer größer und wir merken das viele Informationen gefordert werden. Informationen über Produkte, Limited Editions, Stores, Kampagnen, Videos, Infos über unsere UK – Produktion, etc. Somit haben wir uns entschieden, eine Website zu schaffen, die eine Art „NB Informationstankstelle“ sein wird. Hier werden täglich globale Informationen rund um NB veröffentlicht. Wir hoffen dadurch, das NB noch transparenter wird, so dass jeder die Info bekommt, die er sucht.

Wird der Lifestyle-Bereich von New Balance in Zukunft weiter ausgebaut, speziell der SMU Sektor?

Oh ja ! Auch eine Info, die es auf dem „Blog“ geben wird. Wir haben ein globales SMU Programm ins Leben gerufen, um so der Nachfrage nach SMUs bzw. absoluten Limited Editions nachzukommen. Somit werden wir nicht nur zwei mal im Jahr (wie in der Vergangenheit) ein SMU veröffentlichen, sondern ca. jeden Monat. Die SMU Hintergrundgeschichten werden immer unterschiedlich sein, so wird es Kooperationen mit Künstlern oder Stores geben wie MITA, Leftfoot , Provider, Hanon, Size, Colette und natürlich auch deutschen Top Sneaker Stores ! Es sind schon einige SMUs bzw. Projekte in der Pipeline und ich kann versprechen, dass es nicht langweilig werden wird!

Was erwartet uns außerdem in den kommenden Monaten von New Balance?

Im Juli wird unsere neue Kollektion im Handel sein und diese verspricht einige nette Styles, Materialien und Farben. Des Weiteren werden wir neben den erwähnten globalen Projekten als nächstes eine Kooperation mit Hikmet Sugoer von Solebox veröffentlichen. Weitere Informationen gibt es dann auf www.newbalancelive.com . Schaut einfach mal vorbei.

Wir bedanken uns für das Interview und wünschen euch ein erfolgreiches Jubiläums-Jahr!

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