ASICS Corp. opened its first store in India. The 670 sq. ft stand-alone outlet is located at a mall in south Delhi. ASICS, which reported 329.5 billion yen (around Rs 17,135 crore today) revenue in fiscal year 2014, actually entered India in 2010 with an exclusive distribution agreement with Reliance Retail, which at present has over 1,700 stores across the country.
“We had a five-year agreement with Reliance Retail, and we did not want to renew the alliance. The market has matured, and we have a much better understanding about the Indian sports shoes market, which is worth about $1 billion,” said Rajat Khurana, Director, ASICS India Pvt. Ltd- as reported by Livemint.
The world’s fourth largest sports-goods maker that is present in more than 150 countries, ASICS set up its Indian subsidiary last year, which will operate as the wholesale distributor. The company intends to establish independent presence through mono-brand stores. ASICS stores will be operated and managed by franchisees, but the company will not have a master franchisee in India, said Khurana.
“Over the next 18 months, we would have our exclusive outlets across top 10 Indian cities, with one or two outlets in each city. Over the next three years, sales should treble,” said Khurana.
This being the first store, the company is yet to gauge revenues from the Indian operations. ASICS, which was founded in 1949, is known for its high-performance sports shoes and is popular among professional and marathon runners. The company is also exploring to tap neighbouring markets, such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, from the Indian subsidiary.
