The New Balance 1400 (M1400) is a model that New Balance was forced to abandon in its pursuit of quality. The “1400 (M1400)” almost became a mirage, but New Balance Japan, a Japanese subsidiary of New Balance, reworked the model from the planning stage and brought it to market. It became a model loved around the world. Because of this, the 1400 is a perfect match for Japanese people among the many models available. In this issue, we focus on the New Balance “1400” and introduce its charms!
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New Balance, a timeless sneaker brand.
New Balance was founded in 1906. In its early years, the company was mainly engaged in the production of orthopedic shoes to correct flat feet. In the 1960s, based on this know-how, the company entered into the manufacture of custom-made running shoes. In the 1980s, the company produced the “900 Series,” “500 Series,” and “1000 Series,” sneakers that have remained pillars of New Balance to this day. In addition to new releases, models released in the 80s and 90s are still popular worldwide.
Model ” 1400 ” commercialized by New Balance Japan
The M1400 was planned to be developed as a follow-up model to the 1300. However, in the pursuit of quality, costs were so high that a price tag of over 40,000 yen had to be set at the sample stage, and commercialization was halted. As a result, the 1500 was released first. Later, a New Balance Japan employee found a sample of the M1400 at a factory in the U.S. and brought it back to Japan to prepare a new project. New Balance Japan also provided the materials, and only the production was done in the U.S. This was the policy that made it possible for the product to be sold in Japan. Initially, the M1400 was sold only in Japan, but a leading U.S. boutique, “J.Crew,” noticed the high level of perfection of the shoe and released it in the U.S. This sparked the popularity of the shoe. This sparked the popularity of the New Balance M1400, which was then sold outside of Japan.
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Incidentally, although no official announcement has been made, it has been decided that production of the M1400 will be discontinued in 2018. However, like the M996, which is also being discontinued, the M1400 is expected to be readily available until a few years from now, when the stock of the shoe that has been produced will run out.
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