Spread Your Wings

The rise of Mizuno in Singapore.

The office was set up only four years ago,” says Gabriel Lee, Assistant Manager of Marketing and Communications at Mizuno Singapore. “VGO International have been the custodians and distributors of the brand in Singapore for a very long time and continue to do a great job, but Mizuno Singapore was established to be closer to the brand’s regional markets in Asia. We service many other countries besides Singapore from this office, and each one has very different requirements.”

Founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno and his brother Rizo, Mizuno started as a shop selling sundries and baseballs. A year later, the brothers began to sell made-to-order athletic apparel. By 1913, they had moved to larger premises and were seen as baseball equipment specialists. The golf range made its debut in 1933 with the Mizuno Star Line, which were the first Japanese made golf clubs.