Asics eyes growth with offline, online expansion in India

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Sep 4, 2017

​Leading Japanese sportswear brand Asics is looking to expand its offline presence in the country. It will add 20 new stores and also strengthen its offline presence to boost sales, said a top company official. 

The sportswear giant has been struggling globally and reporting losses due to poor sales. Asics reported a 6.86% decline in global sales revenue to 399.11 billion yen in 2016, as sales fell 2.6% in home market Japan, and Europe. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Africa together registered a 12.9% drop in sales.
 
Asics is now looking at the booming Indian sportswear market to compensate for the shortfalls in other markets. From 2015 to 2016, the Indian sportswear market grew 22%, outpacing the segment's global increase of 7%, according to a report by consulting firm Euromonitor. By 2020, it is expected to grow an additional 12% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) with sales expected to reach $8 billion.

"As of now we have 22 mono-brand stores, out of which seven were opened in the first half of the year. Another seven will be opened in the second half. For next year also we are looking at a similar number of new such stores," Asics India Managing Director Rajat Khurana, told a news agency.
 
"In a country like India 50-60% of sales happen in mono-brand stores for all the brands and we are no exception. So we continue to focus on opening mono- brand stores, growth and other channels,” he added.
 
Asics India gets 40% of its total sales currently from mono-brand stores while the online channel contributes 20% to its overall business. The company is now looking to increase its online sales by partnering with more e-commerce firms in the country.
 
"We are present on the big four e-commerce platforms in India. Our sales from e-commerce account for nearly 20% of business. So we are looking to grow this channel as well," he said.