The sports company ASICS acquires the Runkeeper app
A sports brand becomes a famous application for athletesA repeat headline with the Japanese ASICS, known for its sneakers and other clothing for physical exercise, and with Runkeeper, an application for runners who want to quantify their runs and training (also walks and bike routes). And it is that the sum of he alth and technology is fashionable, and the sports brands are not they want to pass up the opportunity to get a good slice of it.
Confirmation of purchase of Runkeeper by ASICScomes from both companies, with separate press releases in which they are happy about the participation of one with the other. Thus, at Runkeeper they are clear that sports brands can no longer focus solely on the creation of garments, but must accompany the user on his journey For its part, ASICS believes that this acquisition will allow its customers to enjoy fun and he althy experiences, as well as services that can only be provided through current mobile technology. And not only that, it confirms that will use the data of its own company and the FitnessKeeper social service to provide value-added products and content to its users
It is unclear, at this time, what will happen to the different applications of Runkeeper , which already add up to half a dozen among those intended to improve the abdominal area, develop strong buttocks or improve legs in general.Only that users will be able to continue enjoying their experience and their free and paid services, without any comments being made about possible price changes.
From the information published by both companies it is not apparent at any time what has been the amount of money in this agreement However, it can be understood that, beyond promoting the he alth and sports experiences of users, this movement has its advertising sense, as a marketing strategy that helpsASICS to sell more of their products. Something very similar to what happened a few months ago with Under Armor and Endomondo, or with Andidas and the Runtastic app
It is clear, then, that mobile technology and he alth are getting the attention of the big sportswear brands, who They already tried in their day to create their own mobile applications.My ASICS did not achieve a great impact, perhaps for this reason the company has been forced to take out its wallet and get hold of one of the great sports applications still available.
Now it only remains to be seen if this deal will make any difference to how Runkeeper, and if its user base of 45 million continues to grow thanks to the potential of ASICS, or only serves as a visibility strategy for it. Of course Runkeeper has an interesting platform for its users to share data and motivate themselves to improve, which could improve now that it has the financial support ofASICS A situation that regular users will be able to verify in the coming months in the absence of clues about the route plan of these companies towards their customers.
