Asics collaborates with Charlotte Cardin, reaching more women

While female runners are no strangers to Asics, the brand also wants to win over sneaker enthusiasts. To gain notoriety among a new female clientele, the Japanese label has enlisted Montreal singer Charlotte Cardin. The elegant Canadian artist with a powerful voice has teamed up with Asics to wear the EX89 model. A basketball-inspired “court” shoe in white with subtle touches of blue and brown. Supported by a campaign in Paris, including a large-scale display on the façade of Printemps Haussmann, the collaboration goes on sale this Tuesday, and also benefits from a digital and social networking campaign, as well as trade-marketing.

The aim of the campaign is to increase the desirability of Asics sportstyle products among female consumers. Although the collaboration is being offered across Europe (at End and Dover Street Market, for example), it’s no coincidence that the campaign focuses on the French market.

“Eight years ago we re-launched Asics’ sportstyle offer,” recalls Eric Pelletier, who is in charge of the brand’s sportstyle department at the company’s Paris headquarters. “Today, we’ve achieved the initial goal we set ourselves. Sportstyle accounts for a third of the brand’s sales in Europe.” In its second quarter, Asics Europe Middle East Africa saw sales increase by 12.1% year-on-year. And the urban segment enjoyed greater momentum. “France is a key market for us,” explains Eric Pelletier, “because that’s where most of our new sneaker launches take place, and it accounts for half of our sportstyle sales. Currently, according to studies, we’re in the top 6 of the sneaker segment. But in the top 10, since the beginning of the year, only New Balance and ourselves are gaining market share.”

Already a strong brand among men, with retro-running, urban-trail, trail or short styles, Asics intends to do better among women.

“Women represent 35% to 45% of the market. At Asics, they account for 10% to 15%. Our visible technology and our footwear have enabled us to win over men, and we are present at different levels of the range, from cutting-edge specialists like The Broken Arm to general retailers like Decathlon. But in certain categories we are often considered a men’s brand. We have initiated the Female Talent Program to introduce our products to an 18-35 year-old female consumer.”

To reach its goal the brand has carefully thought out its approach. It started with three seasons ago with designer Cecilie Bahnsen, who shows in Paris. The Danish designer revisited the gel 1090 with silver flowers. A retro-running model from the 2000s, it helped Asics make a name for itself among a fashion-conscious clientele. The model was then revisited in a more accessible version with the creative Freja Wewer.

“With the XE89, we’re moving towards a more mainstream offer. Charlotte Cardin used to be a model, so she has an eye for the product. We are looking for an artist who really embodies the product and wants to wear it.” Clearly, Asics wants to work with multi-brand players on high-volume products. It has its eye on Courir, which prides itself on its ability to attract female consumers.

It is quite the challenge, since Asics will be attempting to take market share from Nike Air Force 1, Adidas Podium and above all Puma Backcourt. But its strategy should enable the Japanese brand to diversify the types of sneakers chosen by its customers… and thus be less sensitive to the declining attractiveness of certain models.

With the strength of its momentum in the men’s market, and by reinforcing its desirability among different female customer groups, the brand aims to break through the 5% market share barrier in France (Nike, Adidas and Puma are still on the podium). Another lever for continued growth would be for the Japanese giant to increase its digital sales, which are still well below its performance in its physical network.