New Balance 2025 sales jump 19% as the brand takes stake from Nike

New Balance’s sales rose 19% last year to $9.2 billion as the legacy sneaker giant continues to outpace the global footwear market and take share from struggling rivals such as Nike.

The 120-year-old Boston-based shoe brand shared its 2025 results exclusively with CNBC. In addition to 2025’s sharp growth, the retailer said it could reach its goal of $10 billion in annual revenue by the end of the year.

“We’re competitive. There’s no doubt about that. But we want to make sure that when we get there and get beyond it, the quality of our business is first and foremost,” CEO Joe Preston told CNBC in an interview. “We don’t want empty calories here. We want to make sure we deliver on the premise that we have, which is to become a premium brand. And over the last five years, we’ve done exactly that all over the world.”

Since 2020, New Balance has grown its sales by a staggering 180%, placing it among a handful of notable competitors who have ballooned as Nike changes its business model and loses significant market share.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nike doubled down on a direct selling strategy that cut off longtime wholesale suppliers so the sneaker giant could grow through its own website and stores. While this strategy briefly boosted sales and promised higher margins, it also opened up important shelf space at strategic retailers such as New Balance, Brooks Running, On, Decker Rushed to fill.

With so much focus on building a direct sales model, which can be more complex than distribution to wholesalers, Nike has also lagged behind innovation and lost its edge in the performance footwear market. This has created more opportunities for competitors like New Balance.

John Donahue, former Nike CEO, previously blamed remote work during the pandemic for slowing innovation at retail, but Preston said the global crisis created an opportunity for his team to come together in ways they had never before to implement new strategies.

“We met every Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m., and we still have that meeting weekly today, and it has allowed us to have a global exposure…We have come out of Covid stronger than any other company in our industry,” Preston said. “The turmoil that’s happening in the market, the Nike examples, certainly, all of those things are real, and at the same time, I don’t think that’s why we started emerging.”

Preston said the company differentiated itself from competitors and gained market share by focusing on “staying in front of the consumer” and how, when and where people want to shop.

The CEO said New Balance’s growth came across a range of regions and categories, and was driven by an aggressive store opening plan that saw 80 new doors open in 2025 alone.

Despite being an important revenue driver, opening stores is expensive and takes time to show a return. When asked, New Balance declined to share details about its profitability, so it’s unclear how much these investments will impact its bottom line, and whether it will be able to maintain the high growth it has enjoyed.

To build its business after more than 100 years in the market, New Balance took some cues from Nike’s playbook. The company said a key driver of its growth is its ability to position itself as a premium brand, which is critical to Nike’s ability to become a nearly $50 billion powerhouse.

This means that New Balance is being selective in both distribution and discounting. The move allowed it to increase its average selling price by about 30% over the past five years at a time when many competitors were forced to rely on promotions to increase sales.

There was also some good timing at play as well. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, New Balance has leaned on its heritage as the “dad shoe” of the 1990s when styles from the 1990s were hugely popular among younger shoppers. This has allowed it to win over a base of younger consumers who didn’t grow up with the shoes and shoppers who choose sneakers as a fashion style — not just for sports or exercise.

At the same time, it has partnered with major athletes, including Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, tennis star Coco Gauff, and Buffalo Bills outfielder Josh Allen, fueling growth in its performance footwear business.

For next year, New Balance said it plans to grow its existing product lines, build new products and focus more on performance sales.

It also wants to continue growing its direct-to-consumer sales by opening stores in strategic areas. While the direct selling strategy has not gone well for Nike, Preston said he is taking a different approach.

“One of the things we don’t do is create [DTC] “We target internally,” Preston said. “We want to make sure that our goal is to look the best and not for it to be the bulk of our business. I don’t want to compromise the way the consumer wants to shop. We want to make sure we enable the consumer to shop the way they want. We just want to look great.”