FLATIRON —This is sprint-speed shoe making.
The New Balance "Experience" store, which opened in Flatiron Thursday, claims to craft custom-made sneakers from scratch in just 60 minutes.
That quirky service is one of the amenities offered at the new outpost, which opened on Fifth Avenue at West 20th Street.
In a glass-walled assembly area, a staffer from the shoe company’s Skowhegan, Maine, manufacturing facility pieced together bits of the No. 880 running shoe. Customers can order a pair and have it made before their eyes, said Stephanie Smith, New Balance’s vice president of retail for North America. The company plans to add other models in the future.
“I think customers expect a lot more in their shopping experience,” said Tracy Knauer, New Balance’s head of marketing for retail.
When the store opened Thursday, a staffer dressed as a giant shoe named Newbie stood outside, waving to passersby and posing for photos.
Inside, a steady stream of customers strolled through the 4,000-square-foot space, picking through stacks of T-shirts and slipping on sneakers.
In the back of the store, a two-lane indoor running track allowed runners to sample their shoes before taking them home. A camera was also rigged to snap photos and post them to customers’ Facebook pages if they wanted.
New Balance also launched a gaming application called Urban Dash to coincide with the store’s grand opening.
“It’s the first game like it in North America,” Knauer said.
The app plays on the concept of a relay race, rewarding winners with a free pair of shoes.
So far, 300 people have downloaded the app, Knauer said. And by 3 p.m. Thursday, the store had given out seven pairs of shoes.
New Balance owns “Experience” stores in Beijing, Hong Kong and Australia, but the Flatiron location is the first the company has opened in North America, Knauer said.
The company, founded in 1906, chose to settle in the Flatiron area in part because the district is so historic.
New Balance left the building’s original wood floors and columns untouched. The store is dotted with a few antique stitching machines that were once used to piece together New Balance shoes. And along the ceiling, a lighted timeline features highlights from the company’s 105-year history.
“We really feel like the culture of New Balance is a great fit here,” Smith said.
Knauer agreed.
“We’re a very old brand with a lot of authenticity,” she said.
