Amer Sports breaks up with Pantaloon Retail

Finland’s Amer Sports, which owns several leading global

sporting brands, has turned back on it April 2010 agreement with Pantaloon Retail, wherein it had assigned Pantaloon as exclusive distributor of Wilson and W brands in India. However, Pantaloon has now sued the Finnish company in the Delhi High Court against the latter’s decision. The case is scheduled for hearing in February.

The buzz is that after the government’s decision to allow up to 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail, many global brands are looking to opening their own brand outlets in India. And Amer’s decision to go back on its agreement with Pantaloon signals at its desire to enter India by launching its own stores. The company owns prominent brands including Wilson, W, Atomic and Solomon.

According to the Amer’s termination letter, Pantaloon must stop selling Wilson and W branded goods within six months time, which has created a stir at Pantaloon since it is currently holding stocks worth Rs 17 crores of Wilson and W brands and company feels that it is difficult to get rid of the inventory within six months. In the wake of the development, Pantaloon wants Amer to either buy back the entire stock or provide adequate time to sell the inventory.

It may be noted that Pantaloon’s unit Planet Sports sells brands like Converse, Speedo, Prince, Callaway, Spalding, Puma, Nike and Adidas.