ASICS has been a major player in the competitive running shoe market since the early 1950s. Amongst competitive runners, ASICS has been a clear choice in running shoes as almost fifty percent of runners in major marathons and competitions wear ASICS. The 1964 Olympics was a large turning point for the company when forty-seven of the medalists were wearing ASICS footwear. The company also gained major notoriety as the shoes were used as school shoes in all of Japan. This was good for the brand but due to the schools and businesses buying shoes in bulk the profit margins were rather small.
With emergence of large players such as Nike and Adidas, ASICS in now competing to be the third largest athletic shoe provider …show more content…
Nike, the largest footwear and apparel company in the world, was established in 1964. The origin of the company’s mass success can be attributed to their development of the waffle-sole shoe. that gripped as well as spikes on grass and bark dust, as well as their celebrity branding with Michael Jordan and the “Air Jordan” model that lead to a massive growth in sales. With their famous slogan “Just do it” Nike became a regular household brand in the 90s and a first thought in athletics.
Adidas originated in 1924 but the official Adidas company was created in 1948 as the two original founding brothers split the company into Adidas and Puma. Adidas gained mass appeal by going after three market segments simultaneously, Soccer, Running and Tennis shoes. The company Has held the largest market share in the soccer shoes but is second overall to Nike. While Adidas and Nike are the top competitors in the global sportswear industry, ASICS is competing with brands such as Puma, Underarmour and New Balance to be the third overall largest sportswear brand in terms of shoes as well as …show more content…
Today the market for “fun runs” is increasing as customers want fashionable running shoes for 5k and 10k runs with not as much emphasis on performance. There is now an even larger share of casual “lifestyle” market. Onitsuka Tiger was introduced for this share of the market and is now working with Italian designers for new designs. ASICS Tiger is another strategy by the company to appeal to a younger audience for casual sneaker wear.
The company is also trying to keep up with new social trends, with the emergence of social media and application marketing being one of the most dominant types of marketing today. ASICS is slowly planting its presence in this segment with the acquisition of Runkeeper to compete with Nike+ and MyFitnessPal from Underarmor. The My ASICS app was also introduced as a fitness app guide but now creates some confusion over which should be the flagship app.