BackSachin Tendulkar launches own line of sportswear
The range, titled 'Sachin by Spartan,' will feature three different collections and will be retailed in India and 12 other countries
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New Delhi: Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Monday launched his own sportswear and cricket equipment range in association with Australian sporting gear and equipment company Spartan Sports International.
The range, titled ‘Sachin by Spartan,’ will feature three different collections and will be retailed in India and 12 other countries, including the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
Priced between Rs2,000 and Rs40,000, the collections will be available at multi-brand sports retail stores across the country and Spartan’s own e-commerce platform www.spartansports.com.
The company is also planning to launch its exclusive stores in India starting next month.
“We are opening our exclusive stores in India, starting with Delhi and Mumbai, next month. We will retail the products in all the leading cricketing nations and all major stores in India as well," said Ravi Thakran, chairman of Spartan Sports.
Spartan expects the range to contribute almost 50% of its India revenue in the next few years.
“It will take a couple of years but this may end up becoming half of our business in India, given that he (Tendulkar) is the superstar of cricket in India," Thakran added.
Tendulkar joined Spartan International Group in July as an investor and member of the advisory board. Tendulkar also holds a minority stake in a Bengaluru-based fashion company Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd (USPL), which retails celebrity fashion lines by cricketer Virat Kohli and Bollywood actors Shraddha Kapoor and Kriti Sanon across the country.
“I was keen to be part of safeguarding and protecting the next generation of cricketers where the focus would be safety for players, accessibility and affordability for all. I am thrilled to be working in conjunction with Spartan and excited to be part of this launch where we have showcased products that are a perfect blend of safety, style and comfort," Tendulkar said in a statement.
Besides Tendulkar, Spartan has also been associated with former Indian cricket team captain M.S. Dhoni. In 2013, Spartan, along with Amity University, signed a bat and sponsorship deal worth Rs25 crore with Dhoni, under which the cricketer’s range ‘7 by MSD’ was launched. Spartan also launched an exclusive range with West Indies batsman Chris Gayle.
The Australia-based company, with its primary production facility in Jalandhar, has also had international cricketers like former Australian captain Michael Clarke, former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson and England cricketer Eoin Morgan as its brand ambassadors.
The active sportswear market in India including sports footwear, apparel and accessories is estimated at Rs6,000 crore, growing 13% year-on-year, according to a report titled Sportswear Market in India 2015 by retail consulting firm IMAGES F&R Research.
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