Mizuno, the Japanese sporting goods powerhouse has expanded into Southeast Asia by establishing its very first office headquartered in Singapore.
In a grand opening ceremony, and very much in keeping with Japanese tradition, Japanese sake was served to herald the auspicious arrival of the Japanese giant.
“We are glad to be in Singapore which we consider to be a major global business hub and we look forward to growing our sporting goods business in the years to come,“ declared Mr.Masaharu Kato, the senior managing director and the number two executive of Mizuno Corporation headquartered in Osaka, Japan.
“I expect that the region covered by our new Singapore office will generate US$25 million in its first year of business and we forecast that we should be able to hit US$50 million by 2018.”
Mr. Kato’s optimism was shared by the newly appointed President of Mizuno Singapore, Mr. Kiyoshi Tatani who said, “We are delighted to start up a full scale operation in this region which we regard as a very important market for Mizuno.”
The Singapore office will oversee all of Southeast Asia, India and New Zealand. “Our primary focus will be on sports apparel and accessories including our full range of golf equipment,” Tatani revealed.
“We now have a permanent base in a vital part of the Asia Pacific region and we will do everything to help play a major role in the development of various sporting disciplines,” he added.
“We are now on the ground in the region and we expect to play our part in the growth of many sports including the game of golf,” said David Leow, general manager of Mizuno Singapore.
Mizuno is the first Japanese sporting goods equipment to have established an office in Singapore to manage its business throughout the region. The opening ceremony was broadcast via a “live stream” on You Tube by the Asia Pacific Golf Group.
Asia Pacific Golf Group www.asiapacificgolfgroup.com
Mizuno Corporation www.mizuno.com