I am not sure what's going on there at New Balance headquarters, but I'm looking at this shoe and comparing it to an older pair that I was going to replace with these. It seems as if someone went through the shoe, and cheapened every single component of it. The fabric on the inside near the heel isn't even sewn in to the shoe, although it has a thread stitching. Its actually glued in (and falling off), and the thread is just there to make it look like they are sewn in. Where the laces are, the fabric isn't even connected, so a few pulls on these laces and that will be coming apart. Even the loop at the back that you use to pull them over your heel has been made much thinner and less robust compared to my previous NB shoes. These are made in Indonesia, and given the quality of them, must have cost a few dollars to produce and yet are not priced accordingly. I've been buying NB shoes for years, but something has changed, and they no longer seem to care about their product. They don't even fit and are way too small even though they are the same size as the previous ones. Hey NB! You've lost another long time customer!