The Onitsuka Tiger store on the ground floor of Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai has a beeline of consumers on a Sunday afternoon. The iconic Onitsuka side stripes, in hues of fluorescent green, red and blue on its leather façade, are the clear favourites of most consumers. It’s not surprising they are the brand’s best sellers in India.

On the first floor of the same mall is Onitsuka’s parent company, ASICS Corporation’s, brand store. The ASICS shoes also have similar side stripes. So how is Onitsuka Tiger different from ASICS is a question many ask. After all, both look almost identical. If one were to ask the senior management of the brands, they would patiently explain that while ASICS is an outdoor sports brand, Onitsuka Tiger is a premium lifestyle brand, whose retro silhouettes celebrate Japanese craftsmanship and technology. Onitsuka shoes are made of leather and are not meant to be worn for a run or a trek, while ASICS shoes are designed for sports.

Back in Japan, the senior management of Onitsuka Tiger has, for the past few years, been trying to clear this confusion by repositioning the brand as a luxury lifestyle label. Since 2022, the brand has been showcasing its collections—shoes and apparel—at Milan Fashion Week and has also been collaborating with European luxury brands to strengthen its presence in the global luxury fashion and lifestyle space. Its most recent collaboration has been with Versace, under which Onitsuka–Versace co-branded shoes will be available exclusively at Versace stores.

Luxury is all about being exclusive and handmade. Onitsuka’s response to this is the launch of the Onitsuka Innovative Factory in Tottori, Japan—the birthplace of its founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka—on Thursday. The facility will strengthen production for high-value-added footwear, including Onitsuka’s hand-made shoe collection Nippon Made and The Onitsuka, the brand’s formal shoe line, which will now be manufactured exclusively at this facility. From cutting the leather to embroidering the iconic stripes on the body of the shoe, the products will be completely handcrafted.

“This facility serves as Onitsuka Tiger’s new epicentre, integrating global design and technology with a foundation in Japanese craftsmanship. As we share our creations from our founder’s birthplace with the world, we are also committed to the succession of artisan skills and the nurturing of future talent, further evolving the values we have cultivated as a brand born in Japan,” says Ryoji Shoda, head, Onitsuka Tiger Company.

Though Onitsuka Tiger is part of the ASICS umbrella, founder Kihachiro Onitsuka launched the brand in 1949 with a mission to inspire Japanese youth to embrace sports after the Second World War. In fact, Onitsuka Tiger shoes were worn by athletes at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. In the 1970s, Onitsuka merged with sportswear manufacturer GTO and knitwear manufacturer JELENK to form ASICS. The Onitsuka brand was eclipsed until it was revived in 2002 as a sub-brand under ASICS.

The mission now is to create a complete Onitsuka Tiger luxury experience, not just through shoes and apparel, but also by foraying into categories such as leather bags and fragrances. Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district has three Onitsuka theme stores—Onitsuka Yellow, Onitsuka Red and Onitsuka Orange. While the Yellow store is ultra-premium and showcases collections launched in high-end fashion circuits, the Red store, with an attached café, offers a lifestyle experience, and the Orange store focuses on customisation and personalisation. There is often a long queue of Onitsuka fans waiting for hours to get their initials embroidered on their shoes.

The Onitsuka Tiger experience is set to expand into fine dining as well. Though the management declined to share details, the opening ceremony of the Onitsuka Innovative Factory in Tottori culminated in a fine-dining experience curated by Chef Yoji Tokuyoshi—a Tottori native and the first Japanese chef to be awarded a Michelin star in Milan.

In India, Onitsuka Tiger has 14 stores, with a clear plan to deepen its penetration. The brand currently operates through franchisees, but it is likely to set up its own direct-to-consumer stores by the end of the year.