Asics Acquires Fitnesskeeper As Sales Grow

ASICS has announced it has acquired FitnessKeeper Inc and also revealed sales have more than doubled in the last five years, with above-market growth.

ASICS will now have 100% shares in FitnessKeeper, the operator of fitness tracking app Runkeeper, an application that can track and record fitness activities.

The app has over 33 million registered users in the US and worldwide, providing notifications of running distance and pace during exercise. It also has functions to record, manage and analyse activities to achieve fitness goals.

The acquisition follows growth across the EMEA region for ASICS, which delivered an overall net sales growth of 16% between January and December 2015.

It’s the highest growth rate for ASICS in years and is up 13% on 2014, with above-market growth in running, including a 17% overall increase in running footwear and a 19% increase in women’s footwear.

In tennis, ASICS has achieved a 26% growth in footwear sales and a 12% growth in apparel. The brand is number one in performance tennis footwear in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, whilst sales in ASICS’ own retail stores increased by 26%.

ASICS Tiger, the lifestyle expression of the performance brand, achieved triple-digit growth following its relaunch in early 2015, with the latest model delivering the brand’s highest sell through to date.

Alistair Cameron, CEO, ASICS EMEA, commented: “2015 has been an outstanding year for ASICS, and our 16% growth means we have now more than doubled our business over the last five years.

“In core performance sports, we’ve had a landmark year and are now top ranked performance tennis footwear brand in Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Whilst in rugby we gave the Springboks and Wallabies the latest technologically advanced rugby jerseys and their performances in the Rugby World Cup helped drive triple digit growth for ASICS rugby apparel.

“In 2016 we will look to consolidate on this year’s successes and build our business in the training category and with younger audiences, both of which are booming across the EMEA region. Our recently launched fuzeX footwear and apparel collection combines performance with style, and is set to be a huge hit with younger runners.”