Shoda said Onitsuka Tiger would open a flagship store in Los Angeles in February. In Japan, the brand will also open what would be its biggest flagship store in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku district on Jul 10, followed by another one in Nagoya, in central Japan, in August. Flagship stores are also planned in Shanghai, Milan and Seoul by September.
Onitsuka Tiger, which appointed Momo from K-pop idol group TWICE as its brand ambassador in 2022, has enjoyed surging popularity in recent years, aided by a revival of retro-inspired trainers. Its yellow-and-black Tai-chi sneakers were also worn by actress Uma Thurman in Quentin Tarantino’s hit 2003 movie “Kill Bill”.
In 2025, sales of the brand jumped 43 per cent from a year earlier to 136.5 billion yen (US$851 million), buoyed by strong demand in Europe, inbound tourism to Japan and a weaker yen.
Brazilian Ana Lebl, 18, was among scores of duty-free shoppers who bought a pair of the brand’s yellow Mexico 66 SD trainers, which feature a black stripe pattern, last week at an Onitsuka Tiger store in Tokyo.
“I’ve always seen them online and they’re so fun,” she said, adding that shopping at Onitsuka Tiger was high on her bucket list for her Japan visit. “Even before my trip, some of my friends asked me if I was going to the store and told me about the shoes they got.”
The Onitsuka Tiger business posted a profit margin of nearly 38 per cent last year, the highest among Asics’ five core categories.
In February, the Japanese maker of athletic and lifestyle footwear and apparel forecast another year of record profit this year.
Known for its minimalistic designs, Onitsuka Tiger traces its roots to Asics’ predecessor, founded in 1949 by Kihachiro Onitsuka, who sought to make sports shoes out of a belief that nurturing healthy young people was essential to rebuilding Japan after World War II.
Onitsuka developed his first pair of basketball shoes and named the brand “Tiger”, inspired by the strength and agility of what he saw as Asia’s most powerful animal.
