New Balance opens first U.S. global flagship store in Boston Landing
Boston, MA New Balance has opened its first U.S. Global Flagship Store at Boston Landing, a new retail experience rooted in performance, innovation and telling the New Balance story. The 6,566 s/f store located at 140 Guest St. in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood offers a unique consumer journey within an immersive and interactive brand experience, including the Made.Boston demonstration and shoe assembly area. The store employs 20 associates, including three Shoe Ambassadors to host the Made.Boston area and provide tours.
Entering the store, consumers are surrounded by a large running impact display, communicating the brand’s authentic running heritage and showcasing premium head-to-toe performance running looks for men and women. Digital screens, including two large, curved screens descending from the ceiling, feature dynamic visuals of elite Team NB athletes, such as Trayvon Bromell and Emma Coburn, as well as images and videos that inspire and convey movement. Other areas in the store feature women’s training and studio products, baseball, tennis, and soccer footwear and apparel, lifestyle footwear and apparel, and kids’ footwear
“We are excited to open this store in Boston Landing that pays tribute to our heritage and spirit, celebrates our innovation and sets a new precedent for the high standard of retail excellence we have established with our New Balance Experience Stores in Boston, New York, and Beijing among others,” said Rob DeMartini, president and CEO of New Balance. “This store invites residents and visitors to our home city to engage with our brand’s story and the passion of our associates.”
Anchoring the store at its center is the Made.Boston demonstration and shoe assembly area, where consumers have a front row seat as limited edition 574’s are made right before their eyes, showcasing the company’s commitment to domestic manufacturing. Shoes will go through the final steps in the assembly process within a cylindrical, glass-walled room, as Shoe Ambassadors describe the process and answer visitors’ questions in a theatrical spin on the typical manufacturing process.
The store’s design features natural and industrial materials throughout such as wood, concrete and metal, which provide a neutral backdrop that allows the products to stand out. As a nod to New Balance’s history of manufacturing in New England, the wall behind the cash wrap is made of metal fire doors from the Skowhegan, Maine factory where some of the brand’s Made In USA footwear is produced.