New Balance Teams With Rich Paul for Klutch Athletics Brand
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Rich Paul is considered one of the world’s most powerful sports agents. His Klutch Sports Group represents a number of high-profile NBA and NFL players including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Jalen Hurts, among many others.
And now, Paul is branching out into sports apparel.
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The agent is teaming with New Balance on a sportswear brand named Klutch Athletics that will zero in on the young athlete. The first drop will come out on April 27 and will focus on training apparel for men and women.
“I’m thrilled to create Klutch Athletics to focus on supporting athletes and the communities in which they live and play,” Paul said. “There’s a gap right now that we can fill — creating training product that is functional, but with style. We’ve seen other brands moving away from youth sports and training, so we’re focused on bringing the new look of training for the next generation. And there’s no one better than New Balance to build this with. I have a long history with them, I know we share similar values, and everything they are doing right now from product to athletes to collaborations is leading culture.”
Paul said he’s been around sports his entire life so he’s well-versed in both and style and performance. “I know what’s important in that space,” he said. And New Balance’s ability to play in both those categories was the primary reason he opted to partner with the company.
“I’ve been able to have an inside look at their brand leadership and how they capture a moment as it pertains to culture and collaborations,” he said. “So I was very pleased for them to see my ideas. It was a no-brainer for me. [The process has] been seamless and I’m extremely happy with how it turned out.”
Initial pieces in the Klutch Athletics apparel line will include compression shirts, mesh shorts, a vest, hoodies, a jogger, an anorak and a sports bra. The palette will be focused around gray, ranging from dark to light and complemented with green accents. The collection was designed by New Balance’s in-house team in partnership with Klutch Athletics’ chief design officer David Creech.
The collection will retail from $40 for T-shirts to $120 for hoodies.
Chris Davis, New Balance’s chief marketing officer and senior vice president of merchandising, said the first drop will focus on pieces that can be layered as well as mixed and matched. “That enables the consumer to maximize the pieces. The youth consumer wants to self-express on the field of play. Most brands focus on either price, look or performance, but this takes all three into account.”
Paul said he is especially partial to the tagline: Be Klutch. “That’s a strong message, whether you’re an NBA point guard, an NFL quarterback, a fireman or a bus driver,” he said. “Everyone is an athlete and we look forward to telling that story.”
The collection will be expanded in the future, but Paul said: “We don’t feel the need to speed. We will go wherever [the customer] takes us. This is step one of many steps.”
“Connecting community, athletes and culture is at the heart of this partnership,” said Julie Pike, senior vice president of global apparel for New Balance. “With this in mind, we created intentional pieces that blend performance and style to deliver training apparel for the next generation of athletes. Our hope is these intentional pieces become the most loved items in the athletes’ wardrobe.”
“We designed the line to help athletes perform their best and look good while doing it,” Creech said. “It will deliver products for all athletes, regardless of sport or gender. We understand what athletes want —product that helps them perform while reflecting the love they have for sport and their community. Every design element of Klutch Athletics apparel has a story, from the branding to the color palette to the product details — everything has a purpose.”
“Together, with Rich Paul and Klutch Athletics, our shared goal is to create a unique product collection and storytelling vision that celebrates the intersection of youth sport and culture,” said Davis. “Rich has deep cultural roots in the world of sport and together we will realize a vision that has yet to be seen by the modern-day athlete. We always strive to take a differentiated approach — this partnership truly exemplifies our independent mindset as a brand.”
Davis said New Balance and Klutch “share a common vision. When entering a new category, you have to solve a need for the consumer. This is rooted in the trust that the performance training category is ripe for disruption — it hasn’t evolved in two decades.” So the line will be “laser-focused” on the young athlete — middle school, high school and college — and will strategically target the NIL and women’s space as well, Paul said.
Although Under Armour and Nike have identified youth athletes as among their target customers in the near term, Paul believes there’s room in the market for Klutch Athletics as well. “We’re not in competition with anyone else,” he said. “This feels authentic and speaks to the next generation of athletes in communities where they live and play. It feels very organic.”
Paul said there’s no pressure for any of the athletes he represents to wear the Klutch Athletics brand, but some of them may want to support the launch.
The collection will launch at around 100 brick-and-mortar stores that carry New Balance product as well as on its website. It will be promoted through social media channels.
Davis said Klutch Athletics represents a long-term partnership between the two companies, similar to the one New Balance has with Teddy Santis of Aimé Leon Dore who designs its Made in USA collection.
“We take a long-term approach to our business planning,” he said. “You should never have to ask why a collaboration exists, but instead create something that is not in the marketplace. New Balance is not a heritage brand, but it’s a brand with heritage. We’re a 115-year-old company that is always thinking about tomorrow and our partnership with Klutch is emblematic of that.”
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