Asics to buy RunKeeper
Asics, best known in the United States for their shoes is buying fitness app Runkeeper. The term of the deals weren’t disclosed but there’s been similar deals with Under Armor and Mapmyfitness.
According to a blog post from Runkeeper CEO Jason Jacobs on Friday, the acquisition will help the company “move even faster.”
“By putting these two pieces together (digital fitness platform and world-class physical products), you can build a new kind of fitness brand that has a deeper, more trusted relationship with consumers and can engage with them in a more personalized way,” Jacobs wrote.
The shoe maker wants to bake the cake and eat to so they can better understand their customers along with suggesting more gear they might need. Asics would have the opportunity to also give their customers a better experience while using their shoes while on a run or walking around Disney world. Asics isn’t the first company to make a purchase like this. Adidas, Under Armor, and Nike have all purchased similar companies or built their own technology. The companies are making similar moves to what Verizon did when they bought AOL. All these companies want to be more than dumb pipes, or dumb shoes in this case.
Tell us in the comments below what you think about all these alethic equipment companies buying fitness apps in the comments below!