lead=yes, commonly known as simply Asics (, [ "Move your mind to an amazing place"] or ), is a Japanese multinational corporation that produces sportswear. Asics is best known for its , but also produces other footwear such as , as well as clothing (, , , swimwear, compression garments, leggings, ) and accessories (, , ).
The name is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano (translated by the company as "a sound mind, in a sound body"). It is headquartered in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
History
Asics began as
Onitsuka Co., Ltd. on September 1, 1949.
Founder began manufacturing basketball shoes in his hometown of Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. The range of sports activities serviced by the company expanded to a variety of Olympic styles used since the 1950s by athletes worldwide. Onitsuka became particularly known for the Mexico 66 design,
in which the distinctive crossed stripes (now synonymous with the company as the
Tiger Stripes) were featured for the first time; martial artist
Bruce Lee helped popularize the shoe. Onitsuka Tiger merged with fishing and
sporting goods company GTO and athletic uniform maker Jelenk to form ASICS Corporation in 1977;
Onitsuka was named president of the new company. Despite the name change, a
Vintage clothing range of Asics shoes are still produced and sold internationally under the Onitsuka Tiger label.
In 2015, Asics launched its
Asics Tiger lifestyle brand to market sportswear inspired by the company's designs of the 1970s to 1990s.
Asics bought the Swedish Hiking equipment brand Haglöfs for ($128.7 million) on July 12, 2010.
Asics generated in net sales and in net income in fiscal year 2023. 50% of the company's income came from the sale of performance running shoes, 33% from other shoes, 6% from apparel and equipment, and 11% from Onitsuka Tiger. 16% of the company's sales were in Japan, 21% in North America, 27% in Europe, 14% in China and 21% in other regions.
In March 2021, Asics launched Unoha (ウノハ), a brand geared towards women.
Relationship with Nike
Nike, Inc. (originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports) was founded to sell Onitsuka Tiger shoes in the U.S. When
Phil Knight visited Japan in 1963, shortly after graduating from Stanford University, he was impressed by the company's shoes, and immediately visited the Onitsuka Tiger office and asked to be their U.S. sales agent. After a number of years, the relationship crumbled and both companies sued each other, with Nike retaining the naming rights to several shoes.
Sponsorships
Asics sponsors a variety of sports associations, teams and individuals; sponsorships include
World Athletics, the Los Angeles Marathon, as well as individual athletes such as volleyball player
Ran Takahashi, footballer Takehiro Tomiyasu, and tennis players Iga Świątek,
Novak Djokovic, Alex de Minaur and
Jasmine Paolini.
The company announced on October 4, 2011, that it would be the new official kit manufacturer for the Australia national cricket team, replacing German manufacturer
Adidas.
Asics is also the official sportswear partner of the Japanese Olympic Committee.
Working conditions
In March 2017, employees assembling Asics products in
Cambodia fainted due to thick smoke present in the factory where they were working. The company responded to this by saying that it, along with the factory in question, would "address specific measures, with a focus on workers' awareness and health and safety training, as well as including an improved air ventilation system".
In March 2021, while several Western world clothing brands expressed concern over allegations of forced Uyghur labor involved in Xinjiang cotton production, Asics also announced that the Australian Olympic team uniform would not contain cotton sourced from Xinjiang.
Gallery
File:Asics brand logo (1977–2003).svg|alt=The Asics logo from 1977 to 2006.|The Asics logo from 1977 to 2006. The typeface, designed by Herb Lubalin, is still used for the Asics Tiger line.
External links
