New Balance planning to open shop in Dublin city centre

According to a planning application filed with Dublin City Council, New Balance Athletic Shoes (UK) Limited is seeking to open the new shop at No 104 Grafton Street, a vacant retail unit previously occupied by fashion brand Cath Kidston.

New Balance is seeking permission to install new signs, advertising the brand name, onto the vacant unit. In a document filed as part of the application, planning agent Savills said the signs were required to reoccupy the Grafton Street unit.

It said the move would replace the jobs and economic generation of the previous occupier.

In 2016, the company opened a store at Kildare Village, the luxury fashion outlet.

It is the latest sports brand to open a shop in Dublin city centre, with UK brand and current Ireland kit supplier Castore having opened an outlet last month.

The Boston-headquartered company has previously been the kit manufacturer for the Irish national team and for Liverpool Football Club.

In the UK, the company has around 12 of its own New Balance factory stores dotted across the country, from London to Livingston in Scotland.

New Balance owns five factories in New England in the US, and one in Flimby in England. The sports company employs 8,000 people around the globe.

According to trade publication Footwear News, New Balance hit $6.5bn (€6.4bn) in annual sales in 2023, which marked a 23pc increase compared to 2022. The results were driven by growth across all global markets.

Outside of footwear, the company’s global apparel business crossed $1bn in 2023, a new record.

By region, sales grew by more than 35pc in Europe and by more than 20pc in the US. The results overall represented a 96.6pc growth in sales since 2020, when revenues totalled $3.3bn for the year.

Since 2020, New Balance’s sales have almost doubled across every region. It also recorded a win when its sponsored athlete Coco Gauff won her first Grand Slam championship at the US Open last year.