19 replies to this topic

[rodeorunner]

Hello everyone, im a bit nervous as this is my first post.
If anyone has any stats on how many runners wear asics could you please let me know. It is for a research assignment.

[silver fox]

rodeorunner

take a look on the left in the main menu under awards. It has the results of a poll of favourite races etc and amongst other things favourite shoe brand. It is only a snapshot but pretty indicative of whats on peoples feet I reckon.

[Digger]

Asics actually conduct shoe count at the Melbourne and London Marathons(I think).i.e What % of runners wear what brands.(What a Surprise, in all the results I've seen, Asics come out at over 50%). I'm not sure where you will find the Melbourne survey results, but they maybe in some old result booklets.(Or ask asics in Melbourne).
I think the London survey results are on The London Marathon website, but I haven't checked it out lately.

[7201]

Asics are (I think), the premier running shoe.

One thing I have also found interesting is that there is also a lack of illegal copy shoes in the bootleg markets in S.E Asia and the Middle East.

I put this down to the inability of pirates to replicate the technology of the shoes.

I have also read several reviews on shoes, and almost always, the Asics Gel Kayanos and the 2080's come out on top.

Whilst they aren't the cheapest shoes, they are certainly the best value for money. It is worth shelling out an extra fifty bucks or so to buy the best shoes on the market.

[ads]

www.asics.com.au

it might be worth trying the Forster Ironman site:
www.ironman.oz

Asics are extremely popular as most of their money goes into their shoes and not advertising. They cater for a wide variety of feet, and don't produce fashion-oriented running shoe models that other manufacturers produce for a quick buck.

Having said this, pitting brands up against each other is a silly and ill-informed exercise, it's like saying Holdens are better than Mercedes by virtue of the fact they sell more. People confuse suitable "shoe" with brand, leading to blanket statements of brands being better than another. While they make very good shoes, the best shoe , not the best brand, is going to be different for everyone.

[rodeorunner]

thankyou for your suggestions, i will let you know how get on. :)

[miners]

The Gold Coast marathon always keeps a tab on the proportion of Asics-clad finishers (usually around 60% give or take). Check the website link above

[B+]

read an article in The runners shop two years ago and it stated that at several marathons when the shoe count was done that asics accounted for 60% of shoes worn and that the gel Kayano on it's own accounted for a higher percentage than any other brand of shoe i.e Nike, reebok, etc.
It would be interesting to see if this has changed, because I have run in Kayano's very several years but have found the newer models soft in the outside of the heel area and that they wear much quicker than in the past.

[vat]

Funny you should say that, Sarge, someone (a fellow CR - don't recall who it was) raised some concerns about Paul's Warehouse that might be best shared in a non-public environment.

I started in Kayanos and gave them after the IX, which I found to be 'soggy'. I never bothered with the X (was told they were even softer), but love my XIs which I picked up from the Sydney Running Centre.

I've dabbled with a few other brands (best of which was the Reebok Premier Road-Lites) but seem to gravitate back to Asics.

[Colin Townsend]

At the Woodstock Runners, the Asics count was around 70% when we did a survey a few years ago.

Late last year, about 10 or 12 (out of 90 odd) tried some Loco's. I'm pretty happy with my Loco's, will seek more feedback from the others soon.

[Sarge]

B+ [indent]quote:

---

It would be interesting to see if this has changed, because I have run in Kayano's very several years but have found the newer models soft in the outside of the heel area and that they wear much quicker than in the past.

---

[/indent]A mate of mine has just been on the round a bout with Paul's over a pair of Kayano X that have worn out the heel where it strikes first. This pair had only done 250k's.

There may be a wind of change blowin'.

[stokesy]

Is your research assignment for Australia only?.Popularity of shoes from country to country vary greatly. Asics on a world scale are not as popular as Nike, Adidas, Reebok or New Balance, that is in 2001 when I was working as a tech rep for New Balance. Australia is a very small slice of the pie in market share. I would be surprised if the shoe count at London was Asics over 50%. Does anyone have a reference to that?

[nimrod]

Not sure about the global percentages but in the US running shoe market ASICS has a 12% share compared to Nike at 44%. More info at:
US Running Shoes

[stokesy]

The U.S is 40% of the global market. Asics have moved up a lot in the last 5 years in the U.S. from about 3% to 12% market share

[B+]

My current runners are Brooks Vapor V and are really good, good ks, good wear and comfortable also recommended to me by my physio. On the global thing with Nike etc we need to know what percentage of shoes sold are for runners as opposed to basketball, walking fashion etc.Therefore I'll go with foot count at a race. I own several dirrent brands of shoes mentioned but until my brooks I have only run in asics inthe last 6 years.

[stokesy]

The above figures ARE running only. I'm not arguing that asics are good shoes. I wear them myself. Globally they are growing and gaining market share. In overall athletic shoes globally they're market share is much less. All the technical running shoe companies make good shoes for different foot types. It makes no sense to say one shoe is better than another. No shoe suits everybody.

[cliff barnes]

Want to know why asics are the most popular? because of the softness and comfort that comes with putting a new pair on. But because of this their durability is severly lacking, recording a durometer reading of 45 as compard to a new balance reading of 60.
Everyone loves to jump on a brand time to time and this is what is happening with asics at the moment.

Lets take the new kayano xi for example. grab the shoe and try to bend it, if you do this it will bend right through the duo-truss system in the middle of the shoe -NOT cool if your thinking its going to give you a good base of support. alternatively, take this shoe to your podiatrist and ask them to bend it and assess its support system.
Compare this to a brooks trance or new balance 1221 and the asics comes out second best on both accounts.

They are soft and comfy yes, popular yes, but best brand out there? probably not.

[stokesy]

As I said before the U.S is 40% of the entire worlds running shoe market. I don't see any shoe counts from U.S races though.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Statistics? Pffft, having poured over statistics for years at uni I can confidently say that statistics mean whatever the hell you want them to mean. Always retain your skepticism...

How can you be loyal to any brand that changes their designs so dramatically each season?

[nimrod]

Found some stats on Asics, this is from 2002.
Details are on this website: Some Asics stats
[indent]quote:

---

The Comrades and Two Oceans 2002 Official Shoe Survey.

In South Africa, the two main events on the road running calendar are the Comrades marathon and the Two Oceans marathon. There were once again official shoe count surveys done last year at both these races, and the results show that the most popular running shoes during these two events are Nike and Asics. These two brands had about 30% of the market share each, with Nike slightly ahead in both events by a percent or two.

The next most popular brand was Reebok (with 17% at Comrades and only 7% at Two Oceans). Trailing behind Reebok with about 10% of market share were New Balance and Adidas, and the rest of the brands followed with 1% or less of market share. This includes brands such as Brooks, Mizuno, Etonic, Hi Tec, Saucony and Puma.

What about in marathons overseas?

In the Rome Marathon, Asics were the most popular (27%), followed by Mizuno (18.5%), Nike (15%), and Saucony (8%).

In the Hamburg Marathon, Asics were the most popular (49%), followed by Adidas (10%) and New Balance (5.5%).

In the Turin Marathon, Asics lead (23%), followed by Mizuno (20%), then Nike (18.5%). Saucony, Diadora Adidas Reebok Fila and New Balance all had less than 10% of market share.

In the Paris Marathon, once again Asisc were the leaders with 30%, followed by Nike (17.5%), New Balance (17%), Adidas (12%) and Mizuno (10%). Fila, Puma, Reebok, Diadora and Saucony all had less than 10% of the market share.

---

[/indent]All that the above shows is that Asics is popular in the above races and not necessarily the best shoe. As with everything it comes down to individual choice and if the shoe is appropriate for you.