ASICS'S FIRST FLAGSHIP STORE IN NEW YORK CITY
ASICS® America, a leading athletic footwear and apparel manufacturer, has had its first U.S.-based retail store open since last fall in New York City. The 1,100-square-foot store is located at 51 West 42nd Street in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, near Bryant Park. When you read about our See Manhattan on Your Feet featuring Asics, the next step is going to the flagship store!
“Despite a down economy, ASICS America is still seeing significant growth in sales,” says Rich Bourne, President and CFO, ASICS America. “New York is an active city in the running community which ASICS has long been a part of through our support of the ING New York City Marathon. We feel this is the perfect time and place to mark our debut as a retailer in the U.S.”
As the first stand-alone ASICS retail outlet in the United States, the store will stock running specific merchandise including footwear and apparel, and will have a sleek design aesthetic with traditional ASICS white and royal blue coloring similar to it’s predecessors in London and Tokyo. A main draw for the store will be the proprietary Foot ID system, which includes a 3D scan of the foot along with gait analysis to help consumers determine the best shoe for their foot and running style.
Foot ID’s 3D scan utilizes a cross-section of lasers and cameras to measure all aspects of the foot including the arch, boney architecture of the upper, length, width, heel and ball girth. The consumer simply stands on two pads located on the scanner and information is entered into a database. The consumer then runs on a special treadmill to collect additional information about their running gait. A specifically trained ASICS staff member will interpret all of this information and provide a recommendation on which shoes will work best for that individual. The gathered information will also be shared with the ASICS Research and Development center in Japan for future research.
“The state-of-the-art Foot ID system allows the customers to experience first-hand what ASICS technology is all about,” says Gary Slayton, VP of Marketing, ASICS America. “ASICS is known for our innovation, and we are proud to be bringing a piece of that to the floor of our first U.S.-based retail store.”
ASICS Corporation, with more than 60 years of footwear manufacturing experience, offers a full line of performance-driven athletic shoes and technical active sports apparel and accessories. For more information, please visit www.asics.com.
