IndiaRetailBiz

“We will focus on retail expansion and building the brand over the next few years with the objective of delighting the consumer and providing him easy access to the brand.” — Subhinder Singh Prem, Managing Director, Reebok India.

Reebok, the global sports footwear and apparel major, which commands around 51% of the country’s sports wear market, is going in for a massive three-fold expansion of its Classics retail stores format. It has decided to add 55 new stores to the existing 20 stores in the next seven-odd months by the end March, 2009, says a PTI report.

Reebok India, it may be recalled, has also sponsored King Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Cricket team as well as has launched an exclusive web site for exclusive use cricket enthusiasts.

The expansion plan of the company comes in the wake of its foray into the lifestyle segment. The company is targeting young people, 18 years of age onward with a strong inclination towards fashion, fitness and sports for the brand.

Currently, the brand is operating stores in the key cities of NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Pune.

The brand, which is present in the international markets since many years, would carry ‘edgy’ and ’stylish’ collections from the domain of Reebok International. These among others would include The Scarlett Johannsons Hearts collection, DGK skate, NFL and the Evolution range. Apart from international collections, the company has also planned to introduce Indian origin collections like the Dance inspired collection being promoted by Bipasha Basu, Dhoni 7 collection designed with inputs from MS Dhoni himself and Fish Fry for Reebok designed by Manish Arora.

While the company intends to make a few of the lifestyle collections available in both Performance and Classics stores, the high-end lifestyle and fashion collections will be made available only in Reebok Classics stores.

“All over the world, sports and style are merging giving rise to a whole new trend… Reebok Classics stores present a unique, classy and trendy range to the consumer which is characteristic of energy through its designs, colours, motifs, fabric and inspirations,” says Prem, the company’s Managing Director.