Japanese sportswear brand Asics will begin to source in India so that it can apply for FDI and benefit from lower duties.
In a discussion with BusinessLine, Rajat Khurana, Director, Asics India, said, “While we are an imported brand, we should soon start with 10-15 per cent of local footwear production in the next two to three years. Applying for FDI requires us to have 30 per cent local sourcing and some of our competitors like Nike have already met these norms to start their own stores in the country. We have our subsidiary since 2015 and expect sales to triple by 2017 as the market is growing and we expect to get profitable with economies of scale.”
The company wants to change its position in India from a sportswear to a lifestyle brand. “India is changing and it is the lifestyle segment which is growing at nearly 20 per cent,” added Khurana. Currently, Asics has 14 monobrand stores and expects to add another 12 this year.
To build its brand in the country, Asics has taken up the role of official sponsor of the Mumbai Marathon for three years.
