Asics targets tier 2 cities for growth, to open 15 stores by year end

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Mar 28, 2018

Japanese sportswear brand Asics has turned its attention to the tier 2 markets in India to drive the next phase of growth and will be opening 15 stores by the end of 2018. The company is expecting to double its topline with this expansion over the next 3 to 4 years.
 

South Indian, East and the North-East markets are part of Asics expansion plans this year and the company is also looking to scale up its physical presence in tier 2 cities from which it has gained good visibility and traction over the years.
 
“The company has already witnessed good visibility and traction in tier-II markets. By the year-end, Asics will look to add at least 15 new stores, to its existing tally of 27, across these target markets,” Rajat Khurana, Managing Director at ASICS India told BusinessLine.

“We are quite satisfied with our performance here and we see huge scope of growth in both our topline and bottomline. We can double, if not treble, the numbers over the next three to four years,” he added.
 
Commenting on sourcing locally, Khurana said, “While 100 per cent foreign direct investment is allowed in single-brand retail in India, we need to source at least 30 per cent here. We have started sourcing locally for apparel. It will take some time”.
 
Asics decided to go solo the Indian footwear market in 2015 after breaking ties with Reliance Retail, and currently has 27 mono-brand stores in India. The brand is available on all leading e-commerce websites and multi brand stores in the country which contribute 20 percent to its sales revenue.