Fashion
Japan’s Asics H1 profit surges 37.5% as lifestyle brands fuel growth
The operating profit of the company increased 37.5 per cent to ¥81,132 million (~$550.3 million), ordinary profit climbed 36 per cent to ¥78,626 million and profit attributable to owners of parent advanced 27 per cent to ¥53,606 million.
Asics Corporation has reported record H1 2025 results, with net sales up 17.7 per cent to ¥402,798 million (~$2.73 billion) and operating profit rising 37.5 per cent to ¥81,132 million (~$550.3 million).
Growth was led by SportStyle and Onitsuka Tiger across Japan, Europe, and Greater China.
Forecasts were raised to ¥800,000 million (~$5.43 billion) sales and ¥136,000 (~$922.5 million) million profit.
The basic earnings per share (EPS) stood at ¥75 compared with ¥58.09 a year earlier, and the gross margin improved to 56.7 per cent and operating margin to 20.1 per cent, both achieving record levels.
Category-wise, Performance Running sales rose 8.2 per cent to ¥184,964 million, while Core Performance Sports grew 4.8 per cent to ¥44,118 million. Apparel and Equipment sales increased 6.9 per cent to ¥20,003 million. Meanwhile, Lifestyle categories drove the strongest expansion: SportStyle jumped 46.4 per cent to ¥67,314 million and Onitsuka Tiger surged 50.1 per cent to ¥65,876 million. Category profits followed suit, with Onitsuka Tiger posting the highest margin at 39.1 per cent.
The growth was recorded across most regions. Sales in Japan increased 24.3 per cent to ¥99,263 million, with segment profit up 66.2 per cent to ¥21,635 million, supported by Onitsuka Tiger demand and margin gains. Europe advanced 24.2 per cent to ¥113,769 million, while Greater China (including Taiwan) rose 16.9 per cent to ¥62,032 million. Meanwhile, North America posted 9.1 per cent sales growth to ¥73,914 million, aided by SportStyle, and Southeast and South Asia achieved a 33.4 per cent increase to ¥23,514 million. Oceania sales rose 3.8 per cent to ¥21,447 million but segment profit declined 9.8 per cent to ¥3,355 million, while the ‘Others’ region remained stable at ¥24,698 million.
The total assets stood of the company stood at ¥539,717 million as of June 30, 2025. The net assets at ¥243,213 million, with an equity ratio of 44.7 per cent. Cash and equivalents amounted to ¥124,619 million. The operating cash flow improved to ¥46,411 million, while investing and financing activities recorded outflows of ¥14,312 million and ¥36,841 million respectively, reflecting capital expenditure, dividends, and treasury share buybacks.
For full-year 2025, Asics forecasts net sales to reach ¥800,000 million (~$5.43 billion), operating profit of ¥136,000 million (~$922.5 million), ordinary profit of ¥131,000 million, and profit attributable to owners of parent of ¥87,000 million, with basic EPS of ¥121.72. With strong momentum in premium running and lifestyle categories, and solid regional growth led by Japan, Europe, and Greater China, the company expects to achieve its mid-term plan 2026 profitability and return on assets (ROA) targets one year ahead of schedule.
“Based on this upward revision, we expect ROA of 16 per cent. As a result, we expect to hit our Mid-Term Plan 2026 targets one year ahead of schedule. The annual dividend forecast has also risen from ¥26 to ¥28,” Asics said in a press release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
Published
August 28, 2025
Ssense is reportedly filing for bankruptcy protection following a move by creditors to initiate the sale of the Canadian luxury retailer, as per a letter sent to employees on Thursday.
In an email sent to staff, the Montreal-based company said the protection move follows the filing of an application to sell the company by its main creditor, without consent from the retailer, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), according to a B0F report.
Chief executive Rami Atallah explained that Ssense will in response file its own CCAA application within 24 hours “to protect the company, keep control of our assets and operations, and fight for the future of the company,” according to the memo.
“Recently, we have worked closely with financial and legal advisors to develop our own restructuring plan to stabilize the business and rebuild it for the future,” said Atallah, as cited by BoF.
“The court will decide which path we follow, likely within the next week. Until then, our focus remains clear: protect value, stabilize the business, and set up a restructuring plan to secure our future.”
It is unknown which creditor pulled the sale trigger.
The retailer’s CEO went on to explain the headwinds facing his company following the Trump administration’s recent trade policies, which have imposed 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Canada.
Ssense also cited the closure of the “de minimus” exemption, which allowed packages worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty free as a hit operationally for the company.
The bankruptcy protection news follows layoffs at Ssense earlier this year, including 100 positions in May, as the firm tries to lower overheads amid the luxury slowdown affecting demand for high-price goods, especially more younger, aspirational luxury shoppers — Ssense’s target market.
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In a press conference organised yesterday by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Bangladesh and 15 other trade bodies, ICC Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman said: “Our entrepreneurs and business chambers strongly support graduation. However, we stress the need for a three- to five-year extension.”
Top trade bodies in Bangladesh have called for delaying the country’s scheduled graduation from the LDC status by five to six years.
Though Bangladesh has fulfilled all three UN criteria, the graduation will bring with it new responsibilities and risks, and therefore, careful preparation is needed to ensure the transition leads to lasting success, ICC Bangladesh president Mahbubur Rahman said.
Though Bangladesh has fulfilled all three UN criteria—gross national income, human assets index and economic vulnerability index—in two consecutive reviews, such a graduation will bring with it new responsibilities and risks, and therefore, careful preparation is needed to ensure the transition leads to lasting success, Rahman said.
Risks include the possible loss of duty-free market access in key export destinations where tariffs of up to 12 per cent could be imposed, and that may lead to a 6-14 per cent drop in exports, he said.
“The press conference expressed optimism that the extended period would provide greater scope for export diversification, development of skilled manpower in automation and artificial intelligence (AI), and building capacity to face future challenges, thereby ensuring sustainable competitiveness in the global market,” the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) posted on Facebook.
The business leaders also raised concerns over the end of special and differential treatment by the World Trade Organization (WTO). “This will make patent rules stricter for the pharmaceutical sector and increase compliance costs,” Rahman cautioned.
Rahman noted that several countries had deferred their LDC graduation in the last.
The proposed five- to six-year deferment would offer Bangladesh the time to secure trade deals with several countries and economic blocs, he added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Published
August 28, 2025
The British Retail Consortium is getting a female chair for the very first time with former Matalan and Co-op exec Jo Whitfield to take over from Andy Higginson in early October.
Whitfield has a quarter of a century of experience in retail and is currently a non-executive and audit chair at Asda, a non-executive and chair of the ethics committee at Factory International, and host of the Manchester International Festival.
She also played a leading industry role campaigning alongside the BRC to achieve better safety recognition and a change to the law to protect retail shopworkers.
She’ll be joined by Eve Williams, as a new non-executive director on the BRC board. Again, she’s hugely experienced and is VP and general manager of eBay UK as well as having held executive marketing and customer roles in both eBay and at ASOS, before being appointed to her current role.
Whitfield said: “I’m honoured to be joining the BRC as its first female Chair, and to be supporting Helen and her team at such a pivotal time. Retail is an incredibly valuable industry, employing over 3 million people who support their families through their work. It’s also uniquely inclusive and many of us have built our careers from the shop floor or from working-class backgrounds, rising into leadership roles and enjoying fulfilling careers.
“Retailers are at the heart of communities, and we’re acutely aware of the many government policies currently under consideration that could either support or hinder our industry. This is a critical moment for us all and now more than ever, we need a strong, united voice. I look forward to working closely with Helen and the team to ensure the interests of our industry are championed and protected.”
And Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO, added: “Jo and Eve join the board as we deal with multiple public policy headwinds and more to do on big issues like climate change, inclusion, and creating the right environment for growth and investment. I know how passionate they both are on these areas and particularly on people so it’s great to welcome two more women to our board and our first female chair.
“It has been a pleasure working with Andy and I would like to thank him for his pragmatic, down-to-earth advice, leadership and support over the past two-and-a-half years. We are a stronger organisation for it.”
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
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