The Hindu Business Line : Reebok expanding footprint

Kolkata, May 13 Reebok India has firmed up plans to expand its footprint. By the end of 2008, Reebok will be present in 225 cities and towns, up from the current 180. The number of exclusive Reebok stores in the country will go up from 675 at present to 800 by end-December, according to Mr Subhinder Singh Prem, Managing Director of Reebok India.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Prem said India had emerged as the largest market for Reebok in the Asia-Pacific region. The average annual growth in the last few years has been 30 per cent year-on-year and Reebok has a 51 per cent share of the Rs 2,000-crore Indian market for sports goods and apparel in the premium segment.

“Our strategy in India is retail-driven and we are opening, on an average, one store every second day. Having covered the big cities, the idea now is to have a presence in tier-II,-III towns and cities across the country,” he said.

According to Mr Prem, with higher disposable incomes, people are aspiring for lifestyle products. As a strategy, Reebok has been focused on blending sports technology with lifestyle products. Prominent designers have been roped in to design lifestyle apparel even as celebrities from Bollywood have endorsed Reebok-branded fitness equipment.

“We are very bullish on growth prospects in India. However, the challenge is to position our brand and products appropriately in the smaller towns. In the big cities, we shall have large format retail outlets while in smaller towns, the show rooms will be smaller,” Mr Prem said.

From being the first athletic footwear brand to use soft garment leather, Reebok will now venture into the manufacture of denims. The idea also is to leverage on the synergy between music, fashion and sports, a trend that continues to grow stronger across the globe. This, perhaps, explains Reebok India’s association with the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Reebok is the sponsor of four (out of the eight) IPL teams, and also of 33 cricketers playing the league.

While the premium sports goods and apparel industry spends between 15 and 25 per cent of its revenue on celebrity endorsements and branding initiatives, “we as a market leader spend more than the industry”, Mr Prem said.

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