Asics to open five India stores by year end

Japanese sportswear brand Asics plans to open five brick-and-mortar stores in India by the end of 2020, bringing its countrywide total close to 60 stores.

Optimistic about the Indian market, Asics plans to continue to expand its offline presence where some of its competitors are reducing their store counts. The brand has seen the pandemic contribute to an increase in health consciousness in India which has boosted demand for sportswear.

“While a lot of brands are rescinding their plans of opening stores and even shutting down existing stores, we have additional five stores in the pipeline that we expect to open by the end of 2020, and we hope to end this calendar year with close to 60 stores,” said Asics' India and South Asia managing director Rajat Khurana, the Press Trust of India reported.

“In 2021, we hope to have a stronger growth momentum, and will look to open one store per month with plans to add 12 to 15 stores.”

Asics recently opened its second store in Kolkata in the city’s Quest Mall. The brand has also opened an additional store in Bengaluru.

“The overall sales this year will rise up in the coming year,” said Khurana.

“We will continue to build up on our retail expansion strategy as we dig deep into the smaller towns to build a deeper brand recall value.”

Without disclosing any figures, Khurana also shared that e-commerce sales will account for over one third of the brand’s total sales in the current financial year.

Asics to open five India stores by year end

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