New Balance's most important customer segment is the "game-changer customer" (14-24 years old): influential, influencing other customer groups and ultra-digital savvy with a passion for sports. The goal for the brand is to be associated with the words “young, fast and cool”.
However, each brand is always looking for the greatest number of customers. And what New Balance understood well is that if you reach the kids, you reach the parents.
An article from Volume explains that to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors also selling kids' shoes, New Balance chose to develop a play and discovery experience in their Asian and Pacific stores. Everything is customizable, allowing kids to choose their shoes from the shoe model to the lace color. Accommodable according to the age of the kid, the brand can, this way, reach a bigger segment.
But why make all these efforts to customize children's shoes as much as possible? To attract more kids, of course, but also to gain the trust of the parents. They make the final decision when shopping, and making them believe in the brand opens the door to future customers.
In fact, by allowing the customer to choose the pair of shoes entirely, New Balance shows its expertise, the quality of the product, and its comfort. Parents and children can touch, feel, interact, and play with each element and, through this experience, both can see how the brand produces a shoe and with what kind of materials.
The first store opened in Shanghai, China, followed by several other ones in Asia-Pacific. What may have helped in the brand's decision to open this kind of store in Asia is the 'child king' policy. Indeed, the child is, in a way, the leader of the family, especially at a very young age. Convincing the child also means convincing the parents. Building a good reputation with children and gaining the trust of parents can then allow the whole family to adopt New Balance shoes.
References
New Balance, Using play and discovery to bring NB Kids to the Asia-Pac retail market, Volume. Retrieved from https://www.volumeexperience.com/works/new-balance-kids
(2018), New Balance targets 'gamechangers', WARC. Retrieved from https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/news/new-balance-targets-gamechangers/40047
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