Asics to Spin Off Onitsuka Tiger Brand

Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)--Asics Corp. said Wednesday that it will spin off Onitsuka Tiger on Jan. 1 next year, as the Japanese sporting goods maker seeks to give the sneaker brand a more independent operating structure to boost sales.

OT Group Corp., an Asics unit, will take over the brand.

Onitsuka Tiger is highly popular mainly overseas and has about 190 stores in around 160 countries, including Japan, China and European countries. The brand aims to increase annual sales by about 50 percent from the current level to 200 billion yen over the medium to long term.

Onitsuka Tiger, which emphasizes fashion, has a different customer base and sales method from Asics, which focuses on sports, Asics Chairman and CEO Yasuhito Hirota said at a press conference in Tokyo. "We will make it independent and let it walk its own path more freely," he said of the brand.

Asics dates back to 1949, when Onitsuka Shokai was founded. In 1977, it merged with other companies and changed its name to Asics. At that time, the Onitsuka Tiger brand was put on a pause, but it was revived in 2002.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]