Agilitas Sports Bags Rights Of Italian Brand Lotto For India, Other Markets
Agilitas Sports will fully control the designing, producing, marketing, and selling of the Italian brand, Lotto, in India and Australia.
Sportswear and athleisure company, Agilitas Sports Ltd., co-founded by former Puma India Managing Director Abhishek Ganguly, is set to make its debut in the consumer market, by acquiring the rights for Italian sports brand Lotto.
"We are looking to launch Lotto in early 2025," Ganguly told NDTV Profit on Friday. With this exclusive long-term agreement with Lotto parent WHP Global, Agilitas Sports will have full control over designing, producing, marketing, and selling the Italian brand in India, Australia and later in South Africa. It will sell footwear, apparel, accessories as well as sports equipment.
Agilitas Sports, in its first year, will open 15 exclusive Lotto stores and is targeting a business of Rs 2,000 crore from the Indian market in the medium term.
Ganguly is betting on Gen Z, who is showing a growing interest in the past, wanting to experience history and heritage firsthand, to fuel demand.
Established in 1973, Lotto—which features the signature double diamond logo—is worn by more than 40 soccer teams and 200 tennis players. Rich with a history in soccer, Lotto has been worn by A.C. Milan and Juventus F.C. and soccer players Dino Zoff, Ruud Gullit, and Andriy Shevchenko.
The athletic footwear major has sales of some $450 million globally and is distributed in over 100 countries.
"We are impressed by the expertise of Agilitas Sports' founders in the sportswear and athleisure market," said Stanley Silverstein, chief commercial officer at WHP Global. He hopes to amplify Lotto's sales in pivotal global markets, particularly in soccer and racket sports hotspots like India and Australia.
The founding team of Agilitas Sports includes Ganguly, Atul Bajaj, the outgoing executive director of sales and operations of Puma India and Amit Prabhu, the former chief financial officer of Puma India.
Indian shoemaker Mochiko, which Agilitas had acquired last year in September, will make Lotto's shoes for India and localise new designs. For apparel and accessories, Agilitas Sports will be working with third-party partners.
Global templates do not guarantee success in the Indian footwear market, and this is testament to the fact that the biggest sportswear brand in India is not the biggest globally, Ganguly explains. "At Agilitas, we want to serve the market which is growing rapidly, by handling every aspect of the business from manufacturing to retail," he said, adding that the goal is to become the top sports company in India, while also making for the world.
Sports and athleisure category is witnessing faster sales growth than the country's average apparel and footwear market. Data analytics platform Statista predicts India's Rs 15,800-crore sports and athleisure retail market to grow to Rs 40,200 crore by financial year 2025. Footwear makes up the largest chunk of the market. It is projected to grow by 21% by 2025.
The Nexus Venture Partners-backed company raised Rs 530 crore through two rounds. With a healthy financial backing, Agilitas intends to make substantial investments towards marketing and distribution of Lotto across channels. It is also actively seeking out potential brand ambassadors for both footwear and apparel, said Ganguly, without divulging specific details.
Ganguly stated that Agilitas has no plans to introduce a private label but will instead expand its consumer portfolio by adding 3-4 more brands. "We are in talks with another sportswear brand to launch in 2025," he said.