DOWNGRADE from 5 stars to 3. Poor move. Drop independent retailer, to online PLUS they dropped my favorite shoe of all time! In the photo, one can see my absolute favorite athletic shoe of all time. It lasted 2 years of regular tennis and pickleball. BUT! When I returned to the Racquets sport specialty store that had introduced this model of shoe to me; and helped me to make that purchase decision, I learned that New Balance no longer works with independent retailers. WHAT!!! I would’ve never selected these shoes - yeah, the color grew on me, too - WITHOUT the professional guidance of a well-trusted, specialty retailer. And, I’m not kidding. These are my FAVORITE athletic shoes of all time - and, at over 50 years of age, that’s a lot of different shoes and brands, [Adidas, Brooks, ASICS, Diadora, etc]. And, my prior pair of NB sneakers were NOT good. … AND, sadly, the replacement pair is not as good.
That’s the other point. Why drop a great shoe?! First, the one downside of the shoe in the picture is that the model information disappeared, wore off, or was never on there. I ended up with a tennis shoe that looked similar and had similar materials and design features. It is some weird fusion of Rally driving and Tennis. Whatever. It does not fit as well. I probably won’t buy it again, when it wears out.
More importantly, shifting distribution strategies to a heavy-direct approach makes the shoes less accessible. I’m highly averse to buying a new model, online. I want to try it on; and talk with a trusted sales professional. Not sure why they changed, but from the far outside perspective, it feels penny-wise and pound-foolish.