ASICS

For the integrated circuit (ASIC), see Application-specific integrated circuit.

ASICS Corporation

Type	Public
Traded as	TYO: 7936
Industry	Sportswear Sports equipment
Founded	1949
Founder	Kihachiro Onitsuka
Headquarters	Kobe, Japan
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Kiyomi Wada (Chairman) Motoi Oyama (President)
Products	Athletic shoes Apparel Sports equipment
Revenue	¥247.7 billion (as of March 31, 2012)
Operating income	¥19.6 billion (as of March 31, 2012)
Net income	¥12.6 billion (as of March 31, 2010)
Number of employees	5,937 (2013)
Subsidiaries	Haglöfs ASICS Europe B.V. ASICS Sports Corporation ASICS Tiger Corporation ASICS Tiger do Brasil Ltda. ASICS Tiger Oceana Pty.
Website	www.asics.com

ASICS (アシックス, Ashikkusu) is a Japanese multi-national corporation athletic equipment company which produces footwear and sports equipment designed for a wide range of sports, generally in the upper price range. The name is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano which translates as "a healthy soul in a healthy body". In recent years their running shoes have often been ranked among the top performance footwear in the market. ASICS bought the outdoor brand Haglöfs on July 12, 2010, for SEK1,000,000,000 ($128.7 million).

History

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

ASICS in Vaughan Mills

An ASICS shop on Albion Street, Leeds

ASICS Ltd. began as Onitsuka Co., Ltd on September 1, 1949. Its founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka, began manufacturing basketball shoes in his home town of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Soon after the range of sports activities widened to a variety of Olympic styles used throughout the '50s, '60s and '70s by athletes worldwide. Onitsuka became particularly renowned for the Mexico 66 design, in which the distinctive crossed stripes, now synonymous with the company brand, were featured for the first time. In 1977, Onitsuka Tiger merged with GTO and JELENK to form ASICS Corporation. Despite the name change, a vintage range of ASICS shoes are still produced and sold internationally under the Onitsuka Tiger label.

The name ASICS is an acronym of the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano, which translates to "healthy soul in a healthy body", which derives from Juvenal's aphorism mens sana in corpore sano or Thales' saying Νοῦς ὑγιὴς ἐν σώματι ὑγιεῖ.

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

On October 4, 2011, it was announced that ASICS will be the new official kit manufacturer for the Australian Cricket Team, replacing German manufacturer Adidas.

Relationship with Nike

Nike, Inc., originally known as BRS, was founded to sell Onitsuka Tiger shoes in US. When Phil Knight visited Japan in 1963 right before he graduated from Stanford University, he was impressed by Onitsuka Tiger shoes with their high quality but reasonable prices. He immediately visited Onitsuka Tiger office then and asked to be their sales agent in US. When Phil Knight founded Nike he headhunted engineers from Onitsuka and made shoes at Asahi cooperation in Fukuoka, therefore early Nike shoes were made in Japan.

Sponsorship

Main article: List of ASICS sponsorships

Gallery

• 

  A pair of ASICS wrestling shoes, model Split Second V

• 

  A pair of ASICS running shoes, model GEL-Kinsei

• 

  A pair of ASICS Gel Kayano 15 shoes with some Betagel in yellow into the heel

See also

• List of ASICS sponsorships
• List of swimwear brands

External links

• ASICS Worldwide