ASICS to withdraw from sales of baseball equipment such as gloves and bats | NHK Kansai News

Asics, a major sporting goods manufacturer, has announced that it will withdraw from the baseball equipment business, including the manufacture and sale of gloves and bats.
As profitability has declined due to a decline in the number of athletes, the company plans to concentrate its management resources on businesses such as running shoes.

ASICS entered the baseball equipment business in 1973 and signed contracts with many professional baseball players, supplying them with cleats, gloves, and other equipment. However, profitability was declining due to a decline in the number of players in Japan.
As a result, the company has decided to withdraw from the baseball equipment business, which includes the manufacture and sale of gloves, bats, and apparel, excluding shoes such as cleats, and will end sales in September of next year (2025).
The company currently has contracts with 11 professional baseball players from Japan and the United States, including Padres pitcher Yu Darvish, but with this decision it will switch to contracts to provide shoes only.
Going forward, the company plans to concentrate its management resources on areas where sales are expected to expand, such as running shoes and tennis equipment, which are its mainstay in overseas markets.