byLarry Eder
Front of new ASICS flagship store, opening in New York City on Friday, October 23, 2009. There will be festivities celebrating the opening of ASICS first store all weekend. Please read on for details…
ASICS SET TO OPEN FIRST FLAGSHIP STORE IN NEW YORK CITY
Grand Opening Weekend Features ASICS Athletes, Free Product, “Fun Run†and Grand Prize Trip Give-Away
IRVINE, Calif. (October 22, 2009)ASICS® America, a leading athletic footwear and apparel manufacturer, will open its first U.S.-based retail store on Friday, October 23,2009 in New York City. The 1,100 square foot store will be located at 51 West 42nd Street in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, near Bryant Park. Opening weekend festivities will feature ASICS’ professional athlete guest appearances, in-store promotions, a “fun run” through the city starting at Bryant Park, and a grand prize trip give-away.
A view of the men’s product in the new ASICS’ 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.â€
A view of women’s product in the new ASICS flagship store…
As the first stand-alone ASICS retail outlet in the United States, the new 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, bony 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. We are very
proud to be bringing a piece of that innovation to the floor of our first U.S. based retail store.”
Another view of the store….
Grand opening events for the public will take place throughout the weekend of October 23, including appearances from ASICS Olympic athlete Lolo Jones, product giveaways, a “fun run†on Saturday, October 24th at 8:00AM starting in Bryant Park and a chance to win a grand prize all-expense-paid trip to an ASICS-sponsored Marathon.
For additional information on these activities, visit www.asicsamerica.com/asicsstoreny .
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.
Photos courtesy of StyleCraft and the ASICS communications department.
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The stripe design featured on the sides of ASICS® shoes is a trademark of ASICS Corporation and is a registered trademark in most countries of the world.
For more on ASICS, please click on http://www.ASICS.com
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