Athlesiure gets a boost from homegrown celeb brands in India

Traditionally dominated by global giants such as Nike, Adidas, Puma and Reebok, athlesiure is now seeing local brands such as Zeven, HRX and Kan Dfy make significant headway into the segment. Zeven is jointly owned by former tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and former Nike country head Hemchandra Javeri. HRX is Hrithik Roshan's own active wear brand. Kan Dfy started recently by Rajiv Mehta, former India head of Puma. Chinese brand Xtep also stepped into India in November.

HRX, co-owned by Roshan and Exceed Entertainment, clocked revenues of Rs 150 crore last fiscal and is confident of doubling it to Rs 300 crore this year. More than half of these sales come from footwear as people own different pairs for running marathons, for walking and training. The brands are also getting a boost from their ambassadors - Hardik Pandya for Kan Dfy and Tiger Shroff for HRX. They appeal widely to the young.

One 8, the athleisure brand owned by Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and Puma, clocked Rs 100-crore sales within the first year of its launch. The presence of Kohli acts as a huge boost. Zeven sponsors the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team and all teams from the Indian Super League (ISL).