Asics North America (ANA), the region which includes the United States, Canada and Mexico, announced that for for the fifth consecutive quarter, the region experienced net sales growth, attributed to a range of factors including the growth of the e-commerce and retail channels and more specifically, the successes within the performance running and core performance sports categories.

In the performance running category, the Metaspeed series experienced its strongest quarter since the two shoes debuted in early 2021. The United States saw double digit growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, and Asics will soon expand the Metaspeed footwear line following the official announcement of the Metaspeed Sky+ and Metaspeed Edge+, which took place in Malaga, Spain in late April.

In the U.S., tennis and wrestling categories led the core performance sports sector to year-over-year growth. Several footwear styles saw strong growth including the Gel-Game model and Matcontrol 2 wrestling shoe.

Further enhancing Asics’ offering in team sports, the company recently announced a new partnership with the largest sublimation manufacture in the Western Hemisphere. Asics’ team sports category includes volleyball, wrestling, tennis, and track & field.

“Despite several ongoing challenges faced by the footwear and apparel industry, we are proud to announce another successful quarter with a growth in sales,” said Richard Sullivan, President and CEO of Asics North America. “As we continue to navigate these persistent challenges in our future, we are thankful for our incredible retail partners and are excited for what the second quarter of 2022 has in store for the Asics brand.”

In the U.S., the e-commerce channel’s growth can be directly tied to a year-over-year rise in new OneAsics memberships. Also in the U.S., the team sports wholesale channel saw a year-over-year increase driven by strong growth across the brand’s offering of tennis, wrestling and volleyball footwear models.

According to Asics’ corporate parent’s press release, Asics’ overall sales decreased 1.1 percent to ¥105,329 million ($822 mm) due to production disruptions caused by the shutdown of some factories. In North America, sales increased 12.2 percent to ¥21,112 million ($165 mm).

The gains in North America were due to strong sales of the Performance Running category and Core Performance Sports category. North America segment loss amounted to ¥774 million mainly due to a deterioration in the gross profit ratio caused by the increase in logistics costs and the increase in Selling, General and Administrative expenses resulting from higher e-commerce sales.

In other regions, sales in Japan decreased 11.7 percent to ¥26,933 million due to weak sales in all categories.
Segment income decreased 42.6 percent to ¥1,447 million mainly due to the impact of the decrease in
net sales.

Net sales in Europe decreased 0.7 percent to ¥30,894 million due to weak sales of Sports Style category and Onitsuka Tiger category. Segment income decreased 26.3 percent to ¥4,052 million mainly due to a deterioration in the gross profit ratio and the increase in advertising expenses.

Net sales in Greater China were ¥13,579 million, the same level year on year, due to weak sales of the Onitsuka Tiger category despite strong sales of the Performance Running category. Segment income increased 4.3 percent to ¥3,621 million mainly due to an improvement in the gross profit ratio of products for wholesale and retail.

In the Oceana region, net sales decreased 4.1 percent to ¥7,364 million due to weak sales of all categories other than the Performance Running category. Segment income increased 2.2 percent to ¥1,447 million mainly due to an improvement in the gross profit
ratio.

In the Southeast and South Asia regions, net sales increased 45.3 percent to ¥3,641 million due to strong sales of the Performance Running category and Onitsuka Tiger category. Segment income increased significantly by 280.6 percent to ¥629 million due to an improvement in the gross profit ratio, as well as mainly due to the increase in net sales.

In Other regions, net sales increased 23.0 percent to ¥9,227 million due to strong sales of the Performance Running category and Sports Style category. Segment income increased 73.9 percent to ¥715 million mainly due to the impact of the increase in net sales.

Companywide, profit attributable to owners of the parent decreased 16.8 percent to ¥8,725 million mainly due to the impact of the decrease in net sales and profit.

Gross profit decreased 1.1 percent to ¥52,601 million due to the impact of the decrease in net sales. Operating income decreased 31.1 percent to ¥10,057 million mainly due to an increase in commission fee, as well as due to the decrease in net sales. Ordinary income decreased 25.3 percent to ¥11,000 million.

Asics wrote in its statement, “Although there are concerns about the various effects of the pandemic this quarter, efforts to normalize socioeconomic activities are underway in many parts of the world. Production impacted by the spread of COVID-19 last year, the shortage of products in this Q1 has already factored into the plan. Despite the logistics disruption in various regions and the impact of lockdown in Shanghai and other areas, Net sales remained at the same level as the same period of the previous year. However, Net sales exceeded our plan. Under these circumstances, there has been confusion over the situation in Russia and Ukraine. However, the scale of Asics Russia and Ukraine operations are small and the impact on business performance has been minimal.”

By category:

  • Performance Running: Net sales increased 7.9 percent to ¥58,779 million due to strong sales in all regions other than Japan. Category profit decreased 7.5 percent to ¥13,285 million mainly due to a decline in the gross profit ratio.
  • Core Performance Sports: Net sales decreased 24.7 percent to ¥10,223 million mainly due to the impact of shutdown of some factories. Category profit decreased 49.6 percent to ¥1,540 million mainly due to the impact of the decrease in net sales.
  • Sports Style: Net sales decreased 8.2 percent to ¥8,117 million mainly due to the impact of the shutdown of some factories. Category profit decreased 20.7 percent to ¥1,345 million mainly due to the impact of the decrease in net sales, despite an improvement in the gross profit ratio.
  • Apparel and Equipment: Net sales were ¥8,733 million, the same level year on year, due to strong sales in all regions other than Japan. Category profit decreased 69.9 percent to ¥175 million due to the impact of the decrease in the gross profit ratio and the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses.
  • Onitsuka Tiger: Net sales decreased 11.6 percent to ¥8,735 million due to the decrease in sales in the Greater China region, affected by the lockdown in Shanghai and other areas. Category profit decreased 9.2 percent to ¥1,852 million mainly due to the impact of the decrease in net sales, despite an improvement in the gross profit ratio.

Asics maintained its forecast for the year. Sales are expected to reach ¥420,000 million, up 3.9 percent. Operating income is expected to be ¥23,000 million, a gain of 4.8 percent. Net income is expected to reach ¥13,500 million, up 43.6 percent.

Photo courtesy Asics