The New Balance 997H is a stroke of genius

For years, the 99x series has been beloved and cherished by a certain sect of the sneakerhead community. Those loving relationships, often built on a foundation of collaborations with renowned boutiques, are derived from a sincere appreciation of the quality of materials and the excellence of manufacturing and craftsmanship consistently exhibited by New Balance’s Made in the USA product.

All of that quality and excellence, however, has ensured that the 99x series is, rightfully, positioned as premium product, and premium products command premium prices. Indeed, New Balance has never shied from the premium positioning of their products, even lauding the 990’s status as the first sneaker to carry a hundred-dollar ticket price in a recent promotional e-mail. The premium nature of the product is part of the brand’s heritage, a point of pride, and deservedly so. Those who have fallen in lust for New Balance’s 99x series know very well that the sneakers are every bit worth the $180-$200+ retail price that they often command.

That being said, that price point, lofty by most standards, renders it challenging to cultivate new customer relationships on a broad basis. $200 for a pair of sneakers is a commitment, and one that can be understandably difficult to swallow. While stalwart models like the 574 and, more recently, the 574 Sport and 247 have served admirably as accessibly-priced gateways to broader New Balance affinity, for one reason or another, they do not inspire the same loyalty and fervor as the premium icons of the 99x series in the sneaker-obsessed community.

Enter the 997H, the sneaker that could very well usher in a new generation of New Balance fanatics.

The 997H is a stroke of genius for the following three reasons:

1. It is essentially identical in shape and design to the original 997, which is perhaps the brand’s single most iconic silhouette. While 574s are terrific sneakers, the silhouette can appear too clumsy to some 99x traditionalists. While the 997 Sport, a similarly recent release, may garner a following for its modern take on the icon, the familiar shape is missing. The shape of the 997 is among the factors that endear it most to collectors, and the 997H provides that familiarity in a lighter, sportier, and admittedly lower quality form factor. Because of that familiarity though, the 997H will also provide nearly as appealing a canvas to collaborators as the original.
2. At an entry-level price point of $90, those who have never pulled the trigger on a sneaker in the 99x series due to price have an opportunity to take the aesthetic for a test run. That price slots in neatly beneath logical competitors like Air Max 1 general releases, which typically retail for $110. Moreover, at a $90 price point, there is little imperative to await a discount, whether at retail or in the resale market. As is discussed at length in Sneakonomic Growth, lack of competition from a brand’s own product on the resale market is increasingly a luxury in today’s sneaker economy. While $90 isn’t nothing by any means, and the 997H won’t be an impulse buy per se, prospective buyers won’t need to swallow as hard in deliberation as they would for a MiUSA product.
3. Most importantly, there is no mistaking the 997H for a MiUSA 997. I bold the end of that sentence because I believe it to be the single most critical aspect of the 997H’s brilliance. Some may express concern that the 997H will serve as an outright substitute for the MiUSA product and that it will cannibalize sales of the higher priced edition. It may very well act as a substitute, but only for those that never had any intention of purchasing the premium version in the first place. For those that already know and love the MiUSA 997, they will similarly admire the 997H’s shape and aesthetic, but they will also recognize that it cannot replace the original, both in terms of quality of materials and construction (despite not lacking in quality relative to GR product from competitors). There is simply no replacing the icon. These diehards will continue to support the MiUSA product, irrespective of any purchases they may make of 997H releases. There is only upside here, as those previously wary of committing to the $200+ product may develop their own affinity for the aesthetic and eventually succumb to the temptation of all that the premium product offers. This is as appealing a gateway product as the brand could ever offer.

New Balance is a brand for which I have tremendous admiration, owing to its unrelenting commitment to and pride in the things it has done well over the course of its long and illustrious history, namely its excellence in craftsmanship and design. The release of the 997H marks a pivotal moment as we look ahead to the brand’s future. While the MiUSA product is absolutely first-class, it can’t carry a brand like New Balance’s ambitions on its own.

This release is a masterfully-conceived opportunity to bring that which makes the brand iconic to a much broader audience, well-timed in a moment when consumers are tiring of product that sits unspectacularly between accessible and truly premium. New Balance’s premium product truly is premium. The 997H truly is accessible, and the path from accessible to premium couldn’t be clearer. The future awaits, and you can be sure that New Balance’s heritage will be a part of it. The 997H ensures that this will be the case without that heritage growing stale.

This post is part of a blog series where I share excerpts and stories from my book, Sneakonomic Growth: Scarcity, Storytelling, and the Arrival of Sneakers as an Asset Class and expand upon some of the themes within the book. If you’d like to join me in this discussion, you can reach me here via email or connect with me on social: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. Also, you can find my book on Amazon — here is the link: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NDPT474.