ASICS opens first company-owned store in India, targets 40% growth

A decade after stepping into India, Japanese sportswear brand ASICS has opened its first company-owned store in DLF Mall of India, Noida - marking a key shift in its retail strategy as it aims to strengthen brand presence and deepen consumer engagement.

“This is our first own store,” said Rajat Khurana, managing director, ASICS India and South Asia. “Till now, all 130 of our stores were partner or franchise-run. With this store, we want to display our product strength completely and enhance the consumer experience.”

ASICS, which entered India in 2015 with its first outlet at Delhi’s Select Citywalk, has since grown its footprint to 130 stores and over 1,000 multi-brand retail counters. The company’s business has been growing 35–40% year-on-year post-Covid, with 38% growth last year and a projected 40% this year.

The decision to open its own store comes after ASICS achieved 30% local sourcing, a key regulatory threshold under India’s FDI norms for single-brand retail. “We achieved 30% local sourcing last year, which allowed us to open our own stores,” Khurana said. “We plan to open three to five company-owned stores in key cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad over the next three to four years.”

ASICS has also increased its local sourcing to 35% this year and expects it to rise further to 40% over the next few years as the domestic footwear manufacturing ecosystem matures.

The flagship store, which had a soft launch this week, will feature the brand’s full range of high-end footwear and apparel, priced up to ₹25,000. It will also include technology-driven experiences such as the Foot ID machine that analyses customers’ biomechanics to recommend the right running shoes. 

“ASICS stands for technology. We want our stores to reflect that, to elevate the brand image and the overall consumer experience,” Khurana added.

The brand’s growth has been led by strong demand from tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which now account for 60% of new store openings. “Consumption has increased in smaller cities. Of the 25–30 stores we opened this year, nearly 60% were in tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” Khurana said.

Running shoes continue to dominate ASICS’ India business, contributing about 60% of sales. The company holds a 19–20% market share in the organised running footwear category priced above $90 (nearly ₹8,000). While metro stores record average price points of ₹9,000–10,000, smaller cities see slightly lower ticket sizes of ₹7,000–8,000.

Over the next five years, ASICS expects to sustain a 30% annual growth rate, even as the base expands. “India is still small in revenue terms, but it’s a focused market for us,” Khurana said. “We see India becoming one of ASICS’ top five global markets in the next 5–6 years.”