Key Issues
In 2016, ASICS was in a tricky position. The company, which was known for its high-quality performance running shoes, was trying to find ways to expand their customer base to increase sales over the next five years. While ASICS had seen success since its inception in 1949, there were a few key areas of improvement for them to meet their goals by 2020.
What Should ASICS’ Strategy Be?
The three key recommendations I would suggest to ASICS in order to increase their sales and expand their customer base would be to 1) create a cost effective mid-tier shoe option for runners who care about their equipment but maybe aren’t ready for the price that comes with high-tier performance equipment, 2) create a consistent brand image across the board to increase brand awareness and emotional investment by consumers, and 3) tap into the athleisure market more rather than putting the majority of focus on shoes.
As ASICS’ research showed, the number of marathon runners in 2016 was on the decline, and more people were getting into casual running or “fun runs” where they would participate in 5k and 10k races that didn’t require equipment with such high performance as some of the top-tier ASICS shoes. Many people participating in fun runs were more price sensitive than marathon runners and didn’t see the need for a $200 shoe for what they considered to be a casual hobby. To keep the attention and business of this segment, ASICS ought to have created a mid-tier shoe that appealed to ‘fun runners.’
One of the major issues ASICS had run into by 2016 was that the branding over the last few decades had become inconsistent. Consumers were unable to maintain a clear understanding of what the company stood for and represented because it changed its campaign tagline once every few years. Not only that, but the taglines were usually very heavy and geared towards incredibly serious athletes, which may have alienated segments such as the ‘fun runners’ from the previous point. ASICS ought to have created a consistent brand image as part of the 2016 shift to include more casual athletes who still cared about taking their athletic hobbies seriously.
While ASICS wasn’t a stranger to the athleisure market in 2016, they were not at the top of the list for athleisure companies. To appeal to a greater number of people, including those such as ‘fun runners,’ who enjoy having comfortable and fashionable clothing to wear while participating in their hobby, ASICS ought to have expanded into athleisure more for casual enjoyers of running and athletics.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while ASICS had a great base to launch from in 2016, there were a few key issues that needed to be addressed to increase sales by 2020. To do this, ASICS needed to introduce a mid-tier shoe for casual runners rather than limiting themselves to high-performance shoes for marathon runners, create a consistent brand image across the market so that consumers know what they stand for, and expand more into athleisure so as not to fall behind in the market.
