Reebok India optimistic on getting 100 per cent FDI license to open own stores

Reebok India is expecting to get license in the next one or two months to open company-owned stores. The brand applied for 100 per cent FDI and is waiting for a response from the government. In November 2015, Adidas, the parent company of Reebok, had received approval to open 100 per cent foreign-owned large Adidas outlets in India.

Senior marketing director Silvia Tallon states the company plans to open six more stores next year across India at right location and at right price, besides at right time as Reebok plans to invest in women's fitness segment where other brands have not invested.

The company plans to invest in women's fitness segment like crossfit and training, combat and fight and running. Reebok has tied up with American fighting promotion company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). UFC is opening its first gym in Mumbai and plans to have 200 gyms in India, the brand need stores to provide the excitement and experience the consumers want to have in the stores, Tallon points out.

Tallon remarks UFC and MMA are the fastest growing disciplines globally and in India too. Reebok also plans to sign celebrities like Malaika Arora and Kangana Ranaut to build the brand in India. The company is investing in digitisation and e-retailing to sell their products. However, is also investing in omni-channels, because consumers possess different technological devices for making purchases, says Tallon.