John R. Strojny (pronounced Stroni), owner of NB Retail Management, Inc. operates four New Balance stores in the Delaware, DC, and Northern Virginia area along with one e-tail site. Strojny’s interest in the athletic footwear industry was spurred by his participation in cross country and track at the University of Delaware.  He graduated in 1974 with a B.S. in Business Administration, and after working at various sporting goods stores, opened his first The Athlete’s Foot store on March 3, 1978.  He also owned and operated Brandywine Sporting Goods in Wilmington Delaware. After six successful years, Brandywine Sporting Goods was sold in 1991 in order to concentrate on The Athlete’s Foot operation. .  After 19 years with The Athlete’s Foot he was approached by New Balance to consider converting the Christiana Mall Athlete’s Foot store into a New Balance Concept store.  The store opened on March 3, 1998 exactly twenty years after he opened his first Athlete’s Foot store. The New Balance store in Christiana Mall was one of the first in the country.  There are approximately 135 New Balance stores throughout the USA.  Strojny then went on to form NB Retail Management, Inc in order to expand his New Balance Store business. Today, NB Retail Management’s headquarters’ is in the Brandywine Town Center.