Asics once supplied the shoes that Nike's founders started out selling
In 1963 a young Stanford graduate named Phil Knight flew to Japan and asked a Kobe shoemaker to let him sell its trainers in America. That distributor, Blue Ribbon Sports, later became Nike. The shoemaker, Onitsuka, became Asics, and in 2025 it posted record sales of 810.9 billion yen.
Kihachiro Onitsuka founded the business in Kobe on 1 September 1949 with just two employees, releasing his first basketball shoe in 1950 before branching into running, wrestling and volleyball. In 1966 came the crossed stripes of the Mexico Line, still the brand's signature, and Bruce Lee helped make the Mexico 66 famous abroad. The relationship with Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman soured in the early 1970s as they launched their own Nike shoes, and lawsuits followed; Nike kept selling a training shoe as the Cortez while Onitsuka's version became the Corsair.
On 21 July 1977 Onitsuka merged with a fishing and sporting goods firm and a sportswear maker to create ASICS, a name built from the Latin anima sana in corpore sano, a sound mind in a sound body. A sports science institute followed in 1985, and silicone GEL cushioning appeared in 1986. The GEL-KAYANO, launched in 1993, took its name from its designer, Toshikazu Kayano.
The late 2010s were rough, with Asics losing ground in performance running. A plan launched in 2021 refocused on technical running shoes, including carbon-plated METASPEED racers designed for two styles of runner: those who lengthen their stride and those who quicken their cadence. By 2023 operating profit reached 54.2 billion yen, more than double the target. Premium pricing, direct sales and fashion interest in older designs such as the GEL-KAYANO 14 kept momentum going.
The revived Onitsuka Tiger label has become a star, boosted by tourists shopping in Japan; its sales jumped 43 percent in 2025, and it now runs almost 200 stores. After leaving the American market in 2023, it plans a return with a Los Angeles flagship in 2027.
Source: Asics
