Asics

ASICS in Vaughan Mills

Inside of the ASICS store on Newbury Street, in the Back Bay section of Boston

ASICS Ltd. began as Onitsuka Co., Ltd on September 1, 1949.[7] Founder Kihachiro Onitsuka began manufacturing basketball shoes in his home town of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The range of sports activities serviced by the company expanded to a variety of Olympic styles used throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s by athletes worldwide.[8] Onitsuka became particularly renowned for the Mexico 66[9] design—in which the distinctive crossed stripes (now synonymous with the company brand) were featured for the first time. Martial-arts star Bruce Lee was the first known celebrity to popularize this design. Onitsuka Tiger merged with GTO and JELENK to form ASICS Corporation in 1977. Despite the name change a vintage range of ASICS shoes are still produced and sold internationally under the Onitsuka Tiger label.

ASICS generated 171 billion yen in net sales and 13 billion yen in net income in fiscal year 2006. Sixty-six percent of the company's income came from the sale of sports shoes, 24% from sportswear, and 10% from sports equipment. Forty-nine percent of the company's sales were in Japan, 28% in North America, and 19% in Europe.[10]

ASICS bought the Swedish outdoor brand Haglöfs, for SEK1,000,000,000 ($128.7million) on July 12, 2010.[11] The company announced on October 4, 2011 that it would be the new official kit manufacturer for the Australian Cricket Team—replacing German manufacturer Adidas.[12]

In March 2021, while several Western clothing brands expressed concern over allegations of forced Uyghur labor involved in Xinjiang cotton production, ASICS announced that it would continue to source cotton from the region.[13]

Nike, Inc. (originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports) was founded to sell Onitsuka Tiger shoes in the US. When Phil Knight visited Japan in 1963 shortly after he graduated from Stanford University he was impressed by Onitsuka Tiger shoes and immediately visited the Onitsuka Tiger office and asked to be their sales agent in the USA.[14] After a number of years the relationship crumbled and both companies sued each other—with Nike retaining the naming rights to several shoes.[15]

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  The Asics logo from 1977 to 2003.
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  A pair of Asics wrestling shoes, model Split Second V
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  A pair of Asics running shoes, model GEL-Kinsei
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  A pair of Asics running shoes, model Gel-Pulse 11
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  Asics Gel-Cumulus 22, men's running shoes
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  Asics Gel-Kayano 26, women's running shoes

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.”[16]

• List of swimwear brands

Wikimedia Commons has media related to ASICS.

• Official website