For years they were considered “daddy’s favorites”, a typical representative of the “ugly shoes” category. But no more. Fifty years after the American businessman of Greek origin Jim Davis bought her New balanceher sportswear is now in demand, causing the company to grow faster than the big names in the industry, Nike And Adidas. New Balance posted a record $5.3 billion in revenue last year and is set to hit $10 billion in the next few years, according to its CEO Joe Preston.

“The perception of the New Balance brand today is fundamentally different from what it was 10 years ago,” Wedbush Securities analyst Tom Nickik told CNBC. “It’s a much cooler name than it was 10 years ago.”

Indeed, New Balance’s collaborations with high-profile designers have led to a steady rise in the resale prices of shoes on the StockX platform. From 2021 to 2022 alone, prices increased by 128%.

He has created legends in the shoe industry and now intends to “manage” his $10 billion company in the next few years.

Today, New Balance can be seen on the feet of celebrities, models and even star athletes. The brand has come a long way since 1906, when British immigrant William Riley founded the New Balance Arch Support Company in Massachusetts. Inspired by a chicken foot that relies on three points for maximum balance, Riley started by creating supportive insoles for those who have to endure long hours of standing before moving on to running shoes.

New Balance found its current owner’s path somewhat by accident. Born in 1943 in the United States to Greek parents, Jim Davis studied biochemistry at Middlebury College. “I aspired to be a doctor, but I realized that I hate reading,” he said in a previous interview. So, he started selling equipment for chemistry and biology laboratories, but very soon he thought about buying a small business. “New Balance was the first one I looked at. But I just rejected her. I had some knowledge about sportswear, but I didn’t know anything about shoes. A year later it was still available, so I bought it,” Davis recalls. It was in 1972, on the day of the famous Boston Marathon, when he agreed to buy New Balance for $100,000. In ten years, he turned it into a well-known brand in the American market with the hope of international expansion. Of course, Davis owed a lot to his good timing, as running exploded in popularity towards the end of the 1970s. In 1976, New Balance released the running shoes that made them popular, as the famous “320” model was not only the first with the “N” logo, but also the one that stood out from the “Runner’s Bible”. “, magazine Runner’s World, as the best of its time.

Emphasizing fit over looks, Davis has always strived to create the best shoes to sell at the highest possible price. Somehow, in 1982, the “990” was released, the most technologically advanced yet expensive sports car sold to that date. As the first shoe to break the $100 barrier, the 990 has become a legend in the sporting goods industry.

Davis has always refused to sponsor athletes or follow fashion trends, but New Balance shoes have gained a rabid following and have occasionally become a fashionista’s favorite. Bill Clinton always wore his 1500s when he went for a run, and Steve Jobs never went anywhere without his 992s. New Balance gave Barack Obama a pair of gray 990s embroidered with his name and the clear phrase “Handmade in the United States” shortly before his re-election. According to Forbes, 80-year-old Jim Davis is worth $4.4 billion.