Asics Runs Into Trouble as Athletes Opt for Nike’s Super-Shoe
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Nike Inc.’s Vaporfly Next% sneakers have been called “groundbreaking” and described as a “supershoe.” For Japanese shoemakers Asics Corp. and Mizuno Corp. they are something else: trouble.
Shares in the shoemakers slid in Tokyo Monday after Nike’s sneakers played a starring role in one of Japan’s most-watched road races, the Hakone Ekiden. The grueling relay marathon race pits teams of about 10 collegiate runners on a course of more than 200 kilometers (124 miles) between Tokyo and Hakone, near Mt. Fuji, over two days.