Asics to Exit Baseball Business to Focus on Cult Hit Sneakers
- Onitsuka Tiger owner will end sales of bats, gloves next year
- Sponsorship deal with Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani ended in 2022
Japan's official competition uniform for baseball sportswear brand ASICS in Tokyo.
Photographer: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty ImagesAsics Corp. is shutting down its baseball equipment business as it focuses on sneakers that have become a cult favorite in Japan and overseas.
The Kobe-based owner of the Onitsuka Tiger brand will stop selling gloves, bats and other gear in late September 2025, a company spokesperson said Thursday, exiting a business that once sponsored Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. It will continue offering cleats, the spokesperson said.