Growing Interest in Sport Boosts Running Shoe Business
JAKARTA – Growing public interest in sport and healthy lifestyles is helping to drive demand for running shoes in Indonesia. This is creating opportunities for the sports equipment industry while also intensifying competition among manufacturers seeking to reach consumers with increasingly diverse needs.
New Balance Brand Marketing Manager Joshua Prakoso Wibowo said the healthy-living trend was one factor influencing demand for sports shoes in Indonesia. More people are now taking part in physical activities, from running to court sports. “In terms of products, performance footwear is growing in Indonesia,” Joshua said.
He said rising demand was also reflected in the development of New Balance’s business in Indonesia. The company’s sales were said to have increased every year, although Joshua did not provide growth figures or a breakdown by product category. “Looking at the graph, we increase every year.”
Despite the increase in demand, competition in the sports-shoe market remains fierce. Joshua acknowledged that New Balance still has to compete with various other brands offering products for similar needs.
Against this backdrop, high-performance sports shoes have become one of the company’s areas of focus in Indonesia. Joshua said the category was expanding as more people took up running.
Consumers’ needs are also becoming more varied, ranging from shoes for daily training and speedwork to competition. These different requirements have led manufacturers to offer models with distinct characteristics.
New Balance, for example, has the SC Rebel line for speed training, the SC Elite for competition and the 1080 for long-distance running. The company is also continuing to update the technology and materials used in a number of its shoe models.
Joshua said product updates would continue next year. However, he did not disclose details of forthcoming products or the company’s sales targets for 2027.
The growth of running communities is also a consideration in planning marketing activities. Joshua said Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali had been selected as locations for this year’s events because they have relatively large user bases.
According to Joshua, the market for sports products is not concentrated solely in those three areas. The company is considering reaching other cities through similar events in the coming years.
Beyond running, New Balance offers products for basketball, football and court sports. Joshua said, however, that running remains one of the company’s performance-product priorities in Indonesia.
Martina Harianda Mutis, Senior General Manager of Brand Marketing & Consumer Engagement SEA at PT MAP Aktif Adiperkasa Tbk, said runners’ differing needs were taken into account when introducing products. Consumers, she said, need to understand a shoe’s characteristics before choosing one.
On 23–24 October 2026, New Balance held its Run Your Way event in Jakarta, involving around 300 runners in a five-kilometre group run. The event also provided an opportunity to introduce five running-shoe models to the community and the general public.
Similar events are scheduled to take place in Surabaya from 31 October to 1 November 2026 and in Bali from 7–8 November 2026. The choice of cities reflects the company’s product user base in each area.
“Through these events, we want to bring the experience of trying New Balance shoes closer to the running community. We believe runners need to experience the shoes’ features and technology directly so they can understand the character of each model and find footwear that suits their needs and running goals,” Martina said.