Bangalore/New Delhi: Thirty-four-year-old programme manager Montu Monnappa could barely walk steady with his loaded shopping bags. He had walked into a store to buy a pair of shoes for his daily gym workout, and ended up spending three times the money he had budgeted for.
Not just on shoes, though. He also bought a sackful of sports accessories.
Brands such as Nike, Reebok and Puma that entered India a few years ago to sell the ubiquitous running shoe are scrambling to meet demand for everything from shoes to yoga mats, as buyers like Monnappa, for whom fitness has become a way of life, open their wallets wider. They want to make exercising more of a pleasure.
“I prefer buying gym accessories on a regular basis and go for lighter gear. Durability and comfort have to go hand in hand for me,” says Monnappa, who works out for an hour every day in a gym. He spends Rs5,000-10,000 every three months buying gym accessories and owns dumb bells, weights, wristbands and headbands as well as gym bags.
Deluged with images of superstars with chiselled bodies and six-pack abs, and actors with shrinking dress sizes, Indian youngsters are more conscious about keeping fit, and willing to spend on products that help them to it. Even those who do not have the time or the inclination to visit gyms, work out at home on treadmills, trainer bikes, and the like. Consultant Shreyas Jayakumar missed working out on a treadmill so much that she brought one home. “My long work hours made going to the gym every evening difficult. So, I bought a treadmill for myself. Now I am planning to buy gym balls in a couple of months,” she says.
Healthy sales: A Reebok showroom in Bangalore. Reebok’s gym accessories include treadmills, exercise bikes, skipping ropes, gym balls, gym belts, gloves, ankle and wrist weights, and heart rate monitors. (Hemant Mishra / Mint)
While it’s still taking baby steps, the Indian gym accessories market broadly includes add-ons such as wristbands, headbands, sippers, gym belts, weights, and equipment such as treadmills and cross-trainers. The active-wear market —that includes sportswear, swimwear, shoes and accessories—is estimated at around Rs2,000 crore-2,200 crore, says Pratichee Kapoor, principal consultant of retail at Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd, a retail consulting firm.
Kapoor estimates the gym equipment market is worth between Rs500 crore and Rs700 crore. The market for both active-wear and gym equipment is growing 30% a year and will keep up this pace for the next five years, the retail consultant says. For now, global shoe brands dominate the gym accessories market.
Nike India Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of US-based Nike Inc., offers gym bags, gym mats, training cycles, treadmills, weights and benches, as well as rowers, besides its bread-and-butter sports shoes.