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For those longing for a bit of footwear nostalgia, New Balance has just the fix in the form of PF Flyers. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the iconic sneaker brand, a trademark the Boston-based company acquired in 2001.
Though the company already enjoyed a strong foothold in the athletic, outdoor and comfort markets with its New Balance, Aravon and Dunham brands, executives at New Balance realized they were still missing out on market share. "A huge part of the market is fashion," said brand manager Joe Casagrande about the company's decision to add PF Flyers to its portfolio. "It was an opportunity for us to play in that space. And it's fun product."
Fun notwithstanding, New Balance executives were aware that in order to compete in the crowded fashion segment, they had some serious sole-searching ahead of them after the acquisition six years ago. According to Casagrande, the product team turned to eBay in search of vintage looks to help familiarize them with the brand's heritage. All told, designers purchased about 100 pairs of PF Flyers as well as old catalogs, videos and marketing items from the online marketplace. "The only direction we got from [the brand's] previous owners," said Casagrande, referring to LJO Inc., a Wayne, N.J.-based footwear buying agent, "was four boxes of legal documents and a few boxes of shoes." Not much to tap into for a company trying to recapture the brand's rich fashion past for a new generation of customers.
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