By Mariko Katsumura
TOKYO, June 10 (Reuters) - Japan's Asics Corp on Wednesday said it will spin off its high-end Onitsuka Tiger business, a key driver behind four straight years of record profit, in a bid to speed up decision-making and boost competitiveness.
Asics shares were up 2.7% in late morning trading in Tokyo, compared with a 0.7% fall for the broader TOPIX index.
Under the plan, the Onitsuka Tiger business will be transferred to OT Group Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary, via a company split effective on January 1, Asics said.
Onitsuka Tiger has been a key growth driver for Asics in recent years. Sales of the brand jumped 43% from a year earlier to 136.5 billion yen ($851.32 million) in the year that ended in December, buoyed by strong demand in Europe and inbound tourism to Japan.
The Onitsuka Tiger business posted a profit margin of nearly 38%, the highest among Asics’ five core categories.
In February, the Japanese maker of athletic footwear and apparel said it expected another year of record profit this year.
Onitsuka Tiger, known for its retro-inspired, minimalistic designs, traces its roots to Asics’ predecessor, founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka, who sought to make sports shoes out of a belief that nurturing healthy young people was essential to rebuilding Japan after World War Two.
Onitsuka developed his first pair of basketball shoes and named the brand “Tiger,” inspired by the strength and agility of what he saw as Asia’s most powerful animal.
($1 = 160.3400 yen)
(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Thomas Derpinghaus)
