Asics Seeks New Ventures For Tenkan-Ten Project

Asics, Japan's sporting goods giant, is looking for second new sports and happiness start-ups aimed at catalyzing the growth of the company.

The plan was first announced in March last year, and the plan is called'Tenkan-Ten'. Japanese says its critical point will provide 30000 euros ($33800) subsidy to selected new ventures, and access to Asics executives and industry mentors, as well as support from IESErBusinessSchool, an internationally renowned business school, for 4 months.

In addition, every founder of a new venture will benefit from leadership development, focusing on 2 items: physical and mental health and corporate culture.

Each founder will receive a personalized "SoundMind, SoundBody" program, including coaches, psychologists, personal trainers, nutrition programs and the use of Asics exclusive gyms and sports facilities.

The plan is part of Asics's current growth plan, which aims to promote sustainable growth in 2020. Its goal is to achieve net sales of 750 billion yen (US $7 billion) by 2020.

Of the 5 new ventures selected in 2018, 1 high-performance Street clothing brands, Pyrates, made use of natural and sustainable fibers such as bamboo and seaweed to produce intelligent cloth named Pyratex.

These fibers are converted into wearable yarns, providing many functions such as muscle relaxation, improving blood circulation and skin cell regeneration, and are good for your health.

The latest Tenkan-Ten program will be launched in September 2019 and will be held at the Asics innovation center in Barcelona, Spain and the newly established EMEA headquarters in Amsterdam, Holland.

The application window will open to June 9th this year.