ASICS, one of the leading sportswear companies from Japan, is planning to continue with its aggressive expansion strategy focusing on opening new stores and ramping up local sourcing, in India. The brand currently has 43 stores which are run by franchisee partners. But, in the long term, it could also look at opening company-owned stores under the FDI policy for single-brand retail. The government recently hiked customs duty on imported footwear to 35 per cent from 25 per cent and on parts utilised to make footwear from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. Recently, ASICS opened its first store in Sri Lanka and it is also looking to expand the brand’s presence in other South Asian markets. Signage companies must aware of the new store expansion move of ASICS, which is a big business opportunity for them to grab some innovative in-store projects.
