The company plans to open the first Lotto store by early next year
New Delhi: Agilitas Sports is planning to open 200 Lotto-branded standalone stores in India in the coming years and the Bengaluru-based athleisure start-up is targeting around Rs 2,000-3,000 crore from that business, a top company official said.
“We are planning to build a robust Lotte business in India,” Abhishek Ganguly, chief executive of Agilitas said. “We have created a separate management team and separate capabilities for the Lotte business. We will give it end-to-end focus.”
Ganguly said the mint-fresh company plans to open doors to the first Lotto standalone store early next year. However, he neither gave a timeframe for rolling out the 200 stores nor how many years it might take for the company to generate Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crore from the Lotto business. “With our end-to-end business model, it is very much doable,” Ganguly said of Lotto’s business prospects in India.
Ganguly said the company is dedicating a portion of its Noida factory of Mochiko Shoes to manufacturing Lotto products. Mochiko is an Indian supplier of footwear for global brands that Agilitas acquired last year to set the tone for the company’s ambitious plans for the hotting Indian sports and athleisure market.
Agilitas is hoping to become an Indian company with end-to-end retailing solutions – from manufacturing to retailing. Agilitas is also lining up a dedicated team to design Lotto products to be sold in India, Australia and South Africa.
Earlier this month, Agilitas inked a long-term licencing agreement with US-based WHP Global to design, manufacture, and distribute the Lotto brand in India, Australia and South Africa.
Featuring the signature double diamond logo, Lotto is a premier Italian sports brand that was established in 1973.
The brand – which is worn by more than 40 soccer teams, over 300 professional soccer players, and more than 200 professional tennis players – is currently owned by WHP Global, a New York-based firm that acquires global consumer brands and invests in high-growth distribution channels including digital commerce platforms and global expansion. WHP owns a portfolio of consumer brands including Toys “R” Us, Babies “R” Us, Anne Klien, and G-Star Raw among a host of other prominent labels that collectively generate over $7 billion in global retail sales.
Agilitas is founded at a time when a burgeoning number of Indians are taking to sports and fitness in an unprecedented manner, creating billions of dollars in opportunities for such brands.
Ganguly hopes Agilitas to rake in one billion dollars in revenues in about a decade. Agilitas is planning to bring a few more global brands to India.
The Bengaluru-based start-up plans to also sell Lotto products through its dedicated website, other multi-brand outlets, wholesale channels and e-commerce marketplaces.
