Sneaker designer Asics makes tracks for the Leather District
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The US group is led by Koichiro Kodama, who splits his time between the Boston and California offices. Despite the shrinking office footprint here, Turner said, Asics still hopes to add more people in Boston.
Synergy vice president Tim Ferguson said the building's high ceilings, a vestige of its manufacturing past, were a selling point, as was Synergy's ability to have the space ready for Asics within just a few months after their first contact. Synergy acquired it from EQ Office, a Blackstone-owned landlord, last year.
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The Japanese sneaker company's road to Boston starts with its acquisition of Runkeeper, a fitness app developed here that Asics acquired in 2016. Two years later, Asics opened its Summer Street office, to build more of a presence in a city known for its footwear brands.
Other shoe companies with major offices within the city limits include Nike-owned Converse and Wolverine-owned Saucony (both near North Station), Reebok (in the Seaport), and New Balance (in Brighton). Puma has its main US office just over the line in Somerville, the Americas headquarters for Clarks is in Needham, and homegrown running shoe company Topo is in Framingham.
'That's part of the reason why we chose Boston,' Turner said. 'There are not many areas that are similar to Boston in that way, that have so many ... footwear brands in that small of an area.'
This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston's business scene.
Jon Chesto can be reached at
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