In an exclusive interview with Sports Executive Weekly, New Balance Athletic Shoe president Jim Tompkins threw water on a Chinese newspaper report that suggested that New Balance would open 70 stores in China by the end of next year.
“The reports in the other trade newsletters were incorrect,” said Tomkins. “We are not opening our own stores in China. We are definitely expanding our retail presence there and have opened several retailers. We think that market has tremendous potential.”
New Balance was said to have been suffering from severe counterfeiting in China for more than a decade, but is making moves to aggressively re-launch the brand. New Balance already has a solid distribution network in China with five retail partners with 40 outlets in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Chengdu and ChongQing.
The Chinese media report pulled information from a New Balance press release that outlined the companys plans to become the “second largest athletic footwear brand in the mainland by the 2008 Beijing Olympics”. The release quoted statements from company chairman and CEO Jim Davis that suggests that China is a perfect market for width-sized footwear.
“We look forward to teaching Chinese consumers about the benefits of properly-fitting footwear”, said Davis. “Our long-time philosophy has been that a product that fits better, performs better.”
The company said it has had an affiliation with mainland China stretching back 15 years.
“China has been a strong manufacturing base for New Balance for quite some time,” explained Joe Preston, New Balance VP International (Asia Pacific) in a release sent to SEW. “We feel the time is absolutely right to start focusing on China as a consumer opportunity.”
The company sees the market becoming its second or third largest market behind the U.S. where it holds a solid number two spot in branded athletic footwear.
Editors Note — Look for more from the Jim Tompkins interview in next weeks inaugural Sports Executive Weekly One-On-One session with the New Balance president.
