The news: Asics is buying race-registration platforms in markets including Thailand, Spain, France, and Australia, per Bloomberg.

The Japanese sportswear company is betting these platforms offer a direct channel to build deeper relationships with runners. It plans to integrate them into an ecosystem where runners can sign up for races, track their performance, and receive personalized training plans and footwear recommendations ahead of race day.

Performance running shoes account for about 45% of Asics’ revenues, and the company sees this ecosystem as a way to stand out in a crowded field that includes Nike, Adidas, New Balance, and fast-growing challengers like Hoka and On.

Will it work? While the strategy is in its early days, it’s gaining traction: Sales at its booth during the Sydney Marathon rose fourfold YoY, and revenues at the Tokyo Marathon expo rose by double digits. However, expo sales aren’t a great gauge of long-term success.

Implications for Asics and other brands: By owning the race sign-up process, Asics could deepen brand equity among committed runners, a high-value segment that typically replaces shoes every four to six months. But these consumers are increasingly focused on product attributes, such as function and fit, rather than brand, per a 2025 Redtorch report on global running culture.

Still, adjacent tech acquisitions don’t automatically convert engagement into footwear loyalty. Under Armour acquired MapMyRun in 2013 for $150 million with similar ambitions to blend digital training tools with product recommendations. The strategy failed to meaningfully strengthen ties with runners, and the company divested the business just over a decade later.

Owning adjacent tech doesn’t guarantee stronger shoe sales—especially if consumers treat the platform as a utility rather than a brand extension. The key question is whether Asics can break through to consumers by seamlessly connecting registration, training, and product in a way that feels additive.

This content is part of EMARKETER’s subscription Briefings, where we pair daily updates with data and analysis from forecasts and research reports. Our Briefings prepare you to start your day informed, to provide critical insights in an important meeting, and to understand the context of what’s happening in your industry. Non-clients can click here to get a demo of our full platform and coverage.