ASICS has announced solid growth across the EMEA region between January and September 2016[1], with the true sport performance brand delivering an overall 4% increase in net sales to €695 million.
The sales increase was largely driven by strong growth in running, ASICS’ key strategic category, with running footwear increasing by 6% and apparel by 3%. Another key contributor is the ongoing acceleration of the brand’s lifestyle category, ASICS Tiger, which grew an impressive 54%. Sales in ASICS’ own retail outlets grew by 16%.
In running footwear ASICS successfully launched its brand new running shoe, DynaFlyte, containing the innovative material FlyteFoam, developed in ASICS’ Institute of Sport Science. The award-winning midsole material – receiving outstanding product test reviews for its combination of light weight and optimum cushioning – will see FlyteFoam expand into a new series of ‘fast’ running shoe models, launching in spring 2017.
ASICS Tiger – the lifestyle expression of the performance brand – continues to post impressive figures, growing 54% compared with the first three quarters of 2015.
This is attributed to the brand’s consistent messaging around the iconic ‘GEL collection’ and a new large-scale global campaign around the innovative ‘Chameleoid Mesh Pack’ – a series of lifestyle shoes with a multi-toned, colour-changing upper.
ASICS Tiger continues to bring hot collaborations to classic styles. The GEL-LYTE V collaboration with the cult, Parisian boutique Colette saw French illustrator Jean Jullien create the marketing artwork for the product, resulting in strong engagement with the younger audience.
The success of ASICS’ lifestyle segment is having a strong spill-over effect on the performance offering. This approach was brought to life with the GEL-QUANTUM 360 running shoe with ‘Chameleoid Mesh’ and the ‘Born of GEL’ campaign to mark 30 years of GEL.
The recent quarter saw ASICS launch its new Global Digital Division to focus on innovative digital technologies that help better connect with consumers. The Boston based division is led by Jason Jacobs, founder and CEO of RunKeeper – acquired by ASICS in 2016.
ASICS has also opened a new customer experience centre in Barcelona to centrally manage all consumer interactions for the EMEA region, with the aim of delivering cutting edge customer service.
Alistair Cameron, CEO of ASICS Europe B.V., commented, “In 2016, our focus on a more consumer centric approach and streamlining of our distribution – with focus on fewer, more high-quality accounts offering a more diverse product range – has resulted in healthy growth across the business. There have been clear strides forward in building a stronger brand between performance and lifestyle and we’ve put digital marketing at the heart of our communications. Our aim is to inspire the new generation who see fitness as part of their daily lives, by offering products that merge performance with lifestyle. At the same time, we continue to lead the way in technical running as demonstrated by the success of ASICS DynaFlyte”.
References:
[1] ASICS Corporation: Jan-Sep 2016, versus Jan–Sep 2015, financial value, local currency, excl. Haglöfs.