by Larry Eder
TOKYO (JPN): Sportswear manufacturer Asics has become the tenth gold partner of Tokyo 2020, inform sportspromedia.com. ASICS has acquired rights in the ‘sporting goods’ category, comprising sports apparel and equipment at the Olympic Games. The other gold partners are: Canon, Nippon Life Insurance Company, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Company, JX Nippon Oil & Energy, NTT, Fujitsu, NEC, Asahi Breweries and Nomura Holdings.
(Editor’s note: ASICS has come on board with Tokyo 2020, and it makes sense for the Japanese based brand. Formed in 1948, the former Onitsuka made running and wrestling shoes first, and moved into becoming the one of the premier brands in the world of sports.
In the 1970s, there were only adidas, Onitsuka Tiger and PUMA. In the US, ASICS was number one in performance for nineteen straight years, until Brooks knocked them down three years ago. Like a prize fighter refusing to give up, ASICS dusted off its proverbial shoulders, reassessed and reinvigorated its running line, and other segments, topping $1 billion in sales in North America for the first time.
Onitsuka has become a fashionista and hipster brand as ASICS, which Onitsuka rebranded itself as ASICS. ‘Anima sana in corpore sano’ means a healthy mind and a healthy body, which has been widely acclaimed and accepted.
It looks like ASICS will be involved with soft goods in Tokyo 2020. That is where the money is and it should be fascinating.)
