Vasque has agreed to sponsor the Hasegawa Tsuneo Cup Mountain Endurance Race, a 71.5-kilometer mountain trail course with over 15,000 feet of altitude gain on varied and extreme terrain. A & F Corp, the Vasque distributor in Japan, also sponsored the event.
Vasque noted that running in general has been on the rise in Japan, as the number of events and runners has grown exponentially over the last few years. Tapping into to this valuable opportunity, Vasque has focused its marketing efforts on sponsorship and promotions of trail events directly linked with retailers. This strategy to further drive international exposure is proving to be a success.
“Trail and mountain running is growing in Japan from an already healthy base,” notes George Brown, Vasques Pacific Rim & Latin American sales & marketing manager. “We have found that event marketing and sponsorship in this area supports our brand positioning in an impactful way. Japanese runners like the Blur or shoes made on the Blur last, like the Mercury. I estimate that about 15 percent of runners in this race were in Vasque trail running shoes, which is very good.”
