Tracking ASICS' Steps in Sportstyle With Lindsey Sweeney

Even if you haven't heard of Lindsey Sweeney, you’ll be more than familiar with her work. An understated virtuoso of the sneaker scene, Sweeney is the GM global head of product for – a category she’s spearheaded since its inception. She's also the driving force behind products like the , retro, and , and these are just a few of her projects that have contributed to the brand's consistent growth over the past couple of years.

Having cut her teeth in retail, Sweeney developed an obsession with learning what goes into creating great product, eventually joining Team Trefoil in her first product-based role. Fast-forward and Sweeney now boasts one of the most well-rounded CVs in the industry, with every step in her career a case study in developing strategic insight and understanding. Sweeney joined us for our first IRL with in Melbourne where she spoke about her journey, and with so much more wisdom to unpack, we caught up with her alongside the event to chat about building the ASICS SportStyle division, designing and producing products mindfully, and her advice for budding creatives.

Let's start by hearing about your journey in the sneaker space. Where did it all begin?

I grew up obsessed over sneakers and always had a passion for product.

My first job was at a sneaker store. I got that job just so I could see the new products and innovations brands came through with and spend time with tech reps to learn more about the features and benefits of all the different shoes. My store manager at the time was exceptional. She spent a lot of extra time with me breaking down products and teaching me the different components, even talking about consumer benefits and the functionality that goes into making a really good, sound product. I give her a lot of credit because she really helped me understand all the things that go into making a product and the functional benefits that are needed.

That store manager ended up working at adidas, and it was through her that I found out about all the aspects of product creation and the process. She had a product management job and she asked me to apply for a role handling SMUs for strategic key accounts. I got the job and spent a couple of years doing that, handling key account SMUs and learning all the aspects of shoe building. After that role, I went on to manage a multitude of businesses for adidas. I was a director over various categories, so I was able to get both footwear and apparel experience, as well as merchandising and product creation functions.

How did you segue that experience into what you do now for ASICS?

After spending 10 years on the category side, I decided to move into a sales director role. I felt like this was really important for me to experience to make sure I could continue learning and expanding my industry knowledge. While I was in sales, one of my accounts asked me if I was interested in moving over to the retail side as a divisional. I went through a lot of internal thoughts, but I knew this was the last position I needed to learn the whole product process – all the way from concept ideation to a consumer walking out of the store with that product. I knew that it would help me be a better product person in the long run.

I got to spend a lot of time directly with consumers in this role, which I think is always vital. If you build a product that no consumer wants, then your product is never going to succeed. So not only did I get to experience the consumer decision tree personally, but I was also able to learn the business side and what it takes to run a successful and profitable business. One of my biggest brands in the store happened to be ASICS, so when they approached me with an amazing opportunity to start this new lifestyle category, I felt confident that all my prior experience had prepared me for the challenge. I've always had an affinity for ASICS. I appreciate their relentless pursuit of innovation, their attention to detail, and the ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ mantra. It was the perfect opportunity for me, and I'm really happy I got to join the brand.

Why should those on the product side gain experience across the industry as a whole?

I think it's important because we spend so much time on concept creation and over a year building a product, but then it seems to stop and we move on to that next season so fast that you never get a chance to go back and learn from what you've already done. Seeing all facets of the business and how you go to market with a product – how you reach consumers and how you put it in store to make sure that consumer experience is exceptional – is really that final part I think most product people don't imagine as we're building. It does make me feel differently about the details we put in, the pricing architecture we're building, how that consumer is going to want to see that product in the end, and what's going to make that purchasing decision. There's so many products out in the world right now and consumers can get absolutely anything they want with the internet. I feel as though the brands that have that close personal connection to consumers are the brands that are going to win in the long run.

How do you share that mindful approach to product with your team and try to lead them in that same direction?

There are always team members that are open and going to ask questions because they also understand my background and the experiences I've had. However, there are also some employees that get a little intimidated by that experience. So I think the way you engage your employees is different. Some of them want the facts, and I'll be able to give them hard facts and tell them why this maybe won't work and get the results they're searching for. But for other employees, I need to ask informed questions and try to lead them to the well and show them how to drink once they get there.

How do you influence what ASICS are doing or have done with that experience?

There's definitely the regular path that you can go down. You can go do your market research, find the white space, figure out the correlation between brand and opportunity, then put a proper strategic plan together. I think that's what most people do, but within ASICS, not only do I do that at different times, but there's also different areas that you need to be able to draft off of my industry experience. Also, I base things on my own behaviours and how I am running my business, and I want to make sure that I'm creating those strategies in alignment with the overall direction of the company, which is important. But there are moments when challenging the status quo is absolutely needed and in those moments as a leader, I need to figure out how to respectfully push and challenge those around me for the greater good of the brand, and I think that's very important.

Yeah. I have so many questions from your answer, but I will go into what I've shared with you around breaking down your influence in ASICS from a female lens. If that's something that you can share, I'd love to hear about that.

The female lens is interesting, and I definitely put a lot of thought behind it, but to me, I pride myself in not trying to look at things through just a female lens and instead really making sure that the work that I do, the strategies that I create, and the product that we put out is not a reflection of my gender. It is of me being in the industry and having a passion for product and making sure that our consumer is always getting the experience we want them to have. We want them to feel comfortable. We want them to feel like they're trendy. We also want to make sure they have durability, and it goes back to our founding philosopher’s mantra, right of ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’. If we do that, then we will help them embrace that ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ lifestyle.

What are some important elements that you live by day to day and how are you looking to keep evolving in the space?

It is hard to totally control the narrative, but what I do like to do is make sure that my track record speaks for itself. I want those around me to understand my willingness to take on new challenges, continuously learn, celebrate the successes I've accomplished within multiple areas of the business, and be a great teammate. That's the core of who I am. I believe in leading by example and always pushing to be the best brand leader, peer, and teammate. I feel as though if I continue to do those things, that will take control of my narrative for me.

To keep evolving in this space, I think it's time for me to move into that next phase within the industry, which is being a mentor, sharing my insights and experience, and really providing people outside of my direct team with the opportunity to discuss any topic, including the future and how to start or open up different pathways into our industry for women. The industry needs great people, and anyone who is passionate and interested in our industry should always feel welcome and equal. These are definitely some of the ways that I would like to continue to contribute and evolve.

How are you working to break down those barriers?

I believe in seeing people for who they are and not what gender they are or how they identify. I think that's more than half the battle with breaking down those barriers. It's also engaging with people that we wouldn't normally engage with for different opportunities. We tend to always look at people's resumes, who has been at X brand or Z brand, and then we just go off of that. There are so many talented people, regardless of gender, out there who are passionate and could really help our industry move forward that much faster, and we need to be open to those. I think the days of old screening is gone and it's time for us to really progress ourselves in how we hire, how we bring new talent in, and how we bring different aspects onto our teams.

What advice would you give those wanting to start in the industry and work with you?

I would tell them to be open to taking different challenges. Maybe the position you're wanting is not the one you're able to get. Take whatever opportunity is given to you, learn as much as you can, and make sure that you become an expert within that business or that area, and then continue to grow. Find people around you that you can learn from, lean on, run ideas by, and really inspire you. I feel like if you do those things and you continue to push yourself and stay confident, you can be successful.

What does the future hold?

I would like to continue to move up within the ASICS brand and make a positive impact. I love what we stand for. I love the prowess that we put behind all of our products. So ideally, I would love to run the ASICS SportStyle category and eventually maybe run a region or get onto the board, which is nice that our board members are embracing more global participation and is fantastic for the future. I will always continue to push the envelope for ASICS SportStyle, making sure that we're offering new, innovative genderless products that are true to who we are as a brand. And of course, we need to make sure those are infused with our DNA. That's very important for us within the ASICS world. I hope to continue to surprise and delight consumers with some unexpected partnerships and also, with some compelling stories and products that will unlock everyone's ‘Sound Mind, Sound Body’ in the future.

Check out more from our Taking Control of Their Narrative series .