Three years after opening its New York City flagship, Asics is closing up shop on Fifth Avenue.
Asics Corp. announced in a statement today that it expects to record “extraordinary losses” for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2020, and as a result would shutter its flagship store, which is located at 579 Fifth Ave.
In the statement, Asics said it expects a loss of approximately ¥2.3 billion on the cancellation of lease and the impairment of related fixed assets.
“Amid the uncertainties regarding when the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic will end, the company will further improve the profitability of the North American business by closing this store, considering the business risk of continuing to operate the store and other factors,” Asics said.
Asics opened the doors to its NYC store — its first U.S. flagship — on Dec. 14, 2017. The location took up 2,035 square feet of retail real estate on NYC’s bustling Fifth Avenue and featured both its Asics and AsicsTiger labels.
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The athletic company revealed at the time that the store was designed to represent its mantra and trademark — Sound Mind, Sound Body — and balanced the technical aspects of the brand’s products with natural, warm finishes, features and materials to create an environment designed to stimulate the mind and body.
“Asics is proud of its unique approach to the retail experience and our product development that focuses on maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a whole,” then-president and CEO of Asics America Corp. Gene McCarthy said in December 2017. “By combining two of our uniquely different brands, we are offering consumers a wide range of quality performance and lifestyle shoes and apparel for an array of needs — directly addressing the shift in the way people are working out and moving today.”
