A step ahead in athletic footwear ASICS Oceania Pty Ltd

ASICS is the first name in Japanese sports products. Known as the core sports footwear brand of choice for athletes the world over, ASICS derives its name from an acronym of the Latin phrase "Anima Sana in Corpore Sano", which in English forms the company's slogan "sound mind, sound body".

The company was started by Kihachiro Onitsuka in 1949, and has been based in Kobe city ever since. In 1986, ASICS founded the wholly owned Australian subsidiary ASICS Tiger Oceania Pty Ltd, which later became ASICS Oceania Pty Ltd. As of 2007, ASICS Oceania employed 65 staff in its Sydney headquarters and Melbourne office.
With its products being sold in both Australia and New Zealand, the company posted revenue of around $105 million last financial year. Although the company also markets the Onitsuka Tiger brand, it deals predominantly in athletic footwear under the ASICS brand. Running shoes comprise half of the company's sales, yet other fields also are catered for with products such as cross-training and walking footwear for the fitness market and football, netball and cricket shoes for ball games.
Based on research and development overseen by its Japanese headquarters, the company is committed to a thorough and hands-on approach to crafting footwear that ranks customer satisfaction first and foremost. As well as fulfilling each of the eight key criteria of footwear performance - fitting, weight, cushioning, stability, flexibility, grip, ventilation and durability - ASICS spares no effort in incorporating the newest and best technology in its footwear in order to accommodate the unique foot movements of each particular sport.
Through its sponsorship of various sporting events, ASICS Oceania is able to achieve its aim of offering Australians opportunities to experience the fun and excitement of sports. The company backs the Gold Coast Marathon, the Sydney Running Festival, the Melbourne Marathon and the Canberra Marathon as well as the Mooloolaba Triathlon, Noosa Triathlon, and the Port Macquarie Ironman and Busselton Ironman competitions. Of the competitors in Australia's marathon and triathlon competitions, around 55 per cent wear footwear made by ASICS.

The company also has individual contracts with athletes including cricket's Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, athletics star John Steffensen and world triathlete champion Emma Snowsill.
Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese heritage sports brand that was once the moniker of ASICS, has gained popularity recently as a fashion item, with its retro charm proving popular as street footwear within Australia.

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Who's the boss? Interview: Tadashi Inoue Managing director ASICS Oceania Pty Ltd Tadashi Inoue has forged a career with ASICS since he was employed in 1979 following his graduation from Kansei Gakuin University. He worked at ASICS America for seven years prior to taking up his present position in October 2004.

What would you say are the main features of the Australian market, considering the nation's enthusiasm for sports?

Mr Inoue: With its wonderful, natural environment and so many people who enjoy sports, whether male or female, young or old, it goes without saying that Australia is an ideal market for us. I have found that it is a straightforward market, in which the consumer voice is conveyed loud and clear in relation to functionality and product features. I feel it is an advantage for ASICS to be in a market where there is less focus on sports such as basketball and soccer, which are the specialties of our rival manufacturers in Europe and the US.

What business strategies are you pursuing in line with those market characteristics?

Mr Inoue: We are aiming at moving from being primarily a footwear business towards being a total outfit brand by expanding our apparel and accessory lines. In our footwear range, we intend to promote our walking shoes line as a key category. Walkers and runners share the common aims of fitness and weight control, so we would like to apply the experience and know-how we have of running, our major strength, to walking.

As well as with its sports gear, ASICS is enjoying popularity among the younger demographic with its Onitsuka Tiger brand. How do you explain this item's fashion appeal?

Mr Inoue: Fashion has never been a focus for us in terms of our company's history, so there were some concerns when we first embarked into the fashion area, but the range soon took off in a big way, starting actually in Paris, not Japan, and spreading from Europe to other countries around the world. There have been various imitations around trying to take advantage of the current boom in Japanese culture, but it's pleasing for us to see that Onitsuka Tiger shoes are being accepted around the world as the only truly authentic Japanese heritage brand. Our portfolio is unique in that both our ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger brands are delivered with the same logo stripe. On the one hand, the ASICS footwear brand represents Japan's pursuit of high functionality, while on the other, the Onitsuka Tiger brand appeals to Japanese culture. We believe that this unique position offers a synergy effect in attracting new users to the respective brands.

For Australian readers who are fans of ASICS and Onitsuka Tiger, what are your plans as managing director for the future development of these brands?

Mr Inoue: In terms of the actual products, we are looking further than just colours and designs by developing products such as gender-specific shoes that reflect the different functionality requirements of men and women. We are also looking to offer the best fitting shoes for each individual customer. When purchasing shoes it is extremely important to find footwear that fits your particular feet shape and size.

We are hoping to attract more Japanese runners to come to Australia for its various running events. The second annual Tokyo Marathon was held in February this year, with as many 160,000 people applying for only a possible 30,000 places. There has been a recent boom in the number of women in Japan who have taken up running, and we would like to continue to co-ordinate with our Japanese headquarters to promote Australia as the place to run, for both women and men, in events that we sponsor such as the Gold Coast Marathon and the Sydney Running Festival.