Lex is the Latin word for law, but in Germany's running scene Lex stands for Laufexperten (“running experts”), a big group of highly qualified retailers specializing in the running segment. Currently the Lex group counts 67 shops across the country.
The cooperative has announced that Asics will no longer be one of its premium partner from 2012 on, a title enjoyed by other brands such as Adidas, Nike, Falke, Polar, Gore Running Wear, Mizuno, New Balance, Brooks and Saucony.
In its official release, Lex was short in explaining how it came to the abrupt end of the partnership with the still undisputed market leader among the running shoe brands. Lex said that both parties agreed to part in a mutually friendly way.
Carsten Unbehaun, who heads up the Japanese company's operations in the country, stated that Lex had changed its contracts in such a way that Asics did not see any chance to extend the two parties' agreement at the time of its scheduled expiration. For Asics, the result is that it will no longer invest in any initiatives organized by Lex as a whole, but will intensify its marketing alliances with selected members of the group.
The brand emphasizes that it continues to be highly interested in collaborating with members of the retailers' network. In short: Asics wants the retailers, but does not necessarily want to do it through a group deal.
It seems as if Asics did not appreciate the change of organization that the Lex network put in place last spring. On May 1, Lex announced a so-called “dual structure,” meaning that it split its operation into two parts: one consists of a GmbH, a limited liability company, which is in charge of the development of new businesses; the other is a club registered under German law (“e.V.”), which handles the purchase committees, working groups and the production of the group's customer magazine.
This move has completely shaken up the structure of the group: The e.V. consists now of 45 members, while the GmbH is at the helm of only 24 retailers who are all members of Sport 2000. Therefore, the break-up between Asics and Lex has no substantial impact in principle on purchases of Asics items.
Rainer Ziplinsky, the managing director of the GmbH and a retailer from Kiel in the far north of the country, hinted that the split did have something to do with money in terms of marketing support by the vendor for the affiliated retailers. But there is more: Ziplinsky thinks that Asics wants to push its own concept of preferred retailers, called the “Asics Running Expert Club.” According to his information, only 14 out of the 24 GmbH members are simultaneously members of that club.
The market leader has had trouble with the German specialty dealers over the past few years, as the brand opened its higher-end items to a wider distribution. The core dealers did not criticize that move in principle, but were worried that non-core retailers could simply not sell a shoe well above €100 in an appropriate price range, but were limited to well below €100.
Lex has taken advantage of a poor start in the snow sports season. Thanks to a record sunny and mild November, Ziplinsky estimates an increase of 4-5 percent in the retail turnover of the GmbH's members to more than €14 million for the whole year.
