Asics America recently named Barbara Turner as vice president of human resources and Lisa Hatton Harrington as general counsel.
Turner was formerly senior director of human resources for Meruelo Enterprises, Inc. Hatton Harrington was previously general counsel at Surf Air.
The hiring comes as Asics America closed 2016 with a strong fourth quarter. In the December quarter, the footwear running category was up 9.3 percent over the same quarter last year, boosted by new product launches including the DynaFlyte, GEL-Quantum 360, GEL- Quantum 180 and fuzeX. The GEL-Nimbus also saw an increase over the same quarter last year in the region.
Asics America also indicated that it saw growth across its digital channels with a 25.6 percent increase in direct to consumer retail channels and e-commerce showing a 75 percent increase year-over-year.
The hirings are part of a goal to establish Asics as “the most important sports and lifestyle brand” in the region by 2020.
“There is great momentum behind the ASICS brand right now, even as we face the realities of the marketplace during an uncertain time in our industry,” said Gene McCarthy, Asics Americas President and CEO, in a statement. “We remain true to our identity and steadfast in our mission to always put our customers’ needs first. We will continue to deliver high quality, innovative products to help athletes of all levels achieve their fitness goals.”
