The Japanese performance footwear brand will assume direct control of Swiss distribution in January 2028, ending a partnership with Montana Sport AG dating to 1991 and extending a pattern of channel internalization across key European markets.
ASICS will assume direct control of its Swiss distribution from January 1, 2028, ending a partnership with local distributor Montana Sport AG that dates to 1991. The transition, announced jointly by the two companies in April, will cover the full product range beginning with the Spring/Summer 2028 selling season. Montana Sport will continue to manage the market through the Fall/Winter 2027 season under unchanged terms.
Switzerland follows ASICS’ global distribution playbook
ASICS has been incrementally shifting from third-party wholesale distribution toward direct control of sales, data and brand experience in recent years. The company’s Mid-Term Plan 2026, published in November 2023, sets an explicit target of raising the direct-to-consumer (DTC) ratio to 40 percent or above by 2026.
The plan also names “optimal channel mix” as one of three strategic priorities under its Enhancement of Brand Experience Value pillar, alongside ecosystem expansion (the running races) and innovation.
Europe is the company’s largest revenue region and Switzerland, while not broken out as a separate market in investor materials, sits inside an EMEA footprint where the brand has been consolidating distribution relationships to gain closer control over pricing, inventory and consumer data. The shift enables ASICS to onboard Swiss buyers directly into its OneASICS membership ecosystem.
A managed exit, not an abrupt break
The structure of the handover is gradual. Montana Sport, which has been the sole distributor in Switzerland since 1991, retains full commercial responsibility for the two remaining 2027 seasons. Alfred Wyss, President of Montana Sport, described the 37-year run as “truly meaningful” to the company, a rare instance of a distributor exiting a major brand relationship with the tone of a natural conclusion rather than a contractual dispute.
Those measured words reflect the nature of the transition. This is not a dispute over performance – ASICS EUROPE B.V. and Montana Sport issued the announcement jointly – but a strategic decision to internalize market management.
