New Balance reported revenue surged 19 percent in 2025 and is targeting $10 billion in 2026, according to SGB Media. The growth came from both volume increases and pricing discipline—the brand held its price points while competitors discounted through the year.
The mechanic: New Balance maintained manufacturer's suggested retail pricing on core SKUs through 2025, even during traditional promotional windows, while continuing to ship fresh colorways and limited drops that kept demand ahead of supply. The brand did not chase volume through markdowns. Instead, it leaned on product momentum—new silhouettes, strategic athlete endorsements, and tighter distribution—to preserve margin while growing top-line revenue. The result was simultaneous lift in units sold and average selling price, a rare dual gain in the physical-goods category.
Why it worked comes down to perceived scarcity and brand momentum compounding. When a product line is seen as moving—when consumers believe the next drop will sell out or that the brand is culturally ascending—price resistance drops. New Balance engineered that perception through controlled release cadence, selective wholesale partnerships, and athlete visibility that positioned the product as aspirational rather than ubiquitous. Holding price in that environment signals confidence and reinforces the perception of value. Discounting would have flooded the market, collapsed resale values, and trained customers to wait. By refusing to discount, New Balance kept the brand taut and let momentum do the pricing work.
The steal for a small physical-product brand: identify one hero SKU and declare it evergreen at a fixed price. Never mark it down. Run limited colorways or variants around that anchor product, but keep the core offering at full retail across all channels. Use email and social to frame each restock as an event, not a clearance. Write the product page copy to emphasize craft, material quality, and the specific customer outcome—then never contradict that message with a percentage-off badge. If wholesale partners request promotional pricing, decline and offer exclusivity or co-marketing assets instead. Build a waitlist for out-of-stock SKUs and let that list length become public social proof. Price discipline scales: a $48 candle or a $120 backpack can hold its number as effectively as a $140 sneaker if the brand consistently communicates scarcity, quality, and cultural signal. The mechanism is the same at every price tier.
The broader pattern: premium pricing is a growth lever, not a ceiling, when the product and the narrative support it. New Balance proved that holding price while shipping volume is possible in a category notorious for promotional spirals. The move requires nerve and tight inventory control, but the payoff is margin expansion and brand equity that survives the next downturn. Brands that discount train customers to wait. Brands that hold train customers to act.