 "Sports wear brands work up the fitness track")
Funky, colourful sports shoes dot the racks of a Puma store in downtown Mumbai. Since stepping into India in 2006, Puma, owned by the French luxury group PPR, has devoted much of its attention to sports lifestyle wear, rather than core fitness equipment. Company executives admit the former has been a key differentiator for it, allowing Puma to have a niche of its own. But even if the company had taken the lifestyle route to start with, there is now a subtle shift happening at Puma in India, driven by the changing market dynamics.
India is seeing a fitness boom, as people across metros, mini-metros and Tier II cities - bombarded by visuals of toned and lean bodies - are hitting neighbourhood gyms and parks to get into shape. The phenomenon, incidentally, isn't restricted to the 15-35 years age-group, traditionally considered to be the key audience for the fitness market. It has found favour with people who are older, as increasing health-consciousness among Indians drives many to take up a fitness routine. All this is pushing up the market for fitness wear.
By industry estimates, the Indian fitness wear market, mostly comprising shoes, is pegged at around Rs 4,000 crore, growing at the rate of 25 per cent per year.
Spotting the opportunity, Puma launched high-performance running shoes called Mobium Elite in its 270 stores across the country last month. The endeavour was to beef up its fitness range, which gives the company about 40 per cent of its Rs 600-crore revenue. Executives at the company say that more such products could find their way to shop shelves. "Besides lifestyle wear, there is scope for us to expand our performance range," says Rajiv Mehta, managing director, Puma South Asia.
Rivals too are speaking the same language. Reebok India, which was at the centre of a Rs 870-crore fraud last year, is rolling out its all-new "fitness strategy" in the country, which has five aspects to it. "The first is our emphasis on running, which all sports wear brands in general are doing. The second is training, which is also being pursued by other brands. But we have taken this to the next level with our tie-ups with gyms and trainers, promotion and sponsorship of a global fitness programme called CrossFit, and use of brand ambassadors such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni for training-related communication such as the one we are doing with a product of ours called RealFlex," says Somdeb Basu, brand director, Reebok India.
The remaining focal points for Reebok are segments which are coming into their own - footwear targeted at those into dancing, aerobics, yoga and cycling - bunched under what the company calls its studio range. It also has shoes for those who prefer to stay in shape by walking or toning their muscles and a fashion line for those who like to step out in a colourful pair of sports shoes in the evening. "We have always been known as a fitness brand. We are now sharpening our focus," Basu says.
Reinforcing the fitness theme, say industry experts, has been warranted by the demands made by consumers today. Basu admits that consumers walking into Reebok's 500-odd stores in the country know what they want, thanks to the exposure they have to fitness routines and training programmes on television and the Internet.
"Consumers have also become very brand-conscious. So, they don't hesitate to spend money on a good pair of shoes if it serves their training requirements," he says. "I am amazed," Mehta of Puma adds, "at how much consumers actually know about sports shoes today. They want the right gear and are prepared to pay the price".
While higher disposable income means that consumers are willing to spend money on a good pair of shoes, this is also putting pressure on brands to come up with products that are technically sound, which not only aid in one's training routine but also help in bringing down chances of an injury.
Ironically, brands have also revised prices to appear more affordable today than a few years ago, as most aggressively compete for a greater slice of the market.
The entry-level prices of brands such as Adidas, Nike and Puma hover in the range of Rs 1,500-1,800 - a few hundreds more than the price warrior Bata's sports wear brands such as Power, which start at Rs 1,000-1,200.
Though Reebok, which was the flagbearer in affordable fitness wear among MNCs with pairs priced as low as Rs 999, has switched to a premium stand, pricing its entry-level shoes at Rs 3,000. But trade sources say this pricing strategy has been put in place primarily to cut Reebok's losses - something its parent Adidas AG has been working on since disclosing there were financial irregularities in the Indian unit a year ago. Globally, Reebok's sales were down 16 per cent in the March quarter of the calendar year, 2013.
Nike and Adidas, meanwhile, have continued their association with sporting activities in the country (as they do globally, with Nike betting on basketball and Adidas on football). Nike, for instance, sponsors running clubs in Mumbai and Bangalore, and promotes the Nike Cup in cricket. It has even associated with Manchester United in football. Adidas, in the interim, is also focusing its attention on sporting activities such as cricket and football in India.
India is seeing a fitness boom, as people across metros, mini-metros and Tier II cities - bombarded by visuals of toned and lean bodies - are hitting neighbourhood gyms and parks to get into shape. The phenomenon, incidentally, isn't restricted to the 15-35 years age-group, traditionally considered to be the key audience for the fitness market. It has found favour with people who are older, as increasing health-consciousness among Indians drives many to take up a fitness routine. All this is pushing up the market for fitness wear.
By industry estimates, the Indian fitness wear market, mostly comprising shoes, is pegged at around Rs 4,000 crore, growing at the rate of 25 per cent per year.
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Rivals too are speaking the same language. Reebok India, which was at the centre of a Rs 870-crore fraud last year, is rolling out its all-new "fitness strategy" in the country, which has five aspects to it. "The first is our emphasis on running, which all sports wear brands in general are doing. The second is training, which is also being pursued by other brands. But we have taken this to the next level with our tie-ups with gyms and trainers, promotion and sponsorship of a global fitness programme called CrossFit, and use of brand ambassadors such as Mahendra Singh Dhoni for training-related communication such as the one we are doing with a product of ours called RealFlex," says Somdeb Basu, brand director, Reebok India.
The remaining focal points for Reebok are segments which are coming into their own - footwear targeted at those into dancing, aerobics, yoga and cycling - bunched under what the company calls its studio range. It also has shoes for those who prefer to stay in shape by walking or toning their muscles and a fashion line for those who like to step out in a colourful pair of sports shoes in the evening. "We have always been known as a fitness brand. We are now sharpening our focus," Basu says.
Reinforcing the fitness theme, say industry experts, has been warranted by the demands made by consumers today. Basu admits that consumers walking into Reebok's 500-odd stores in the country know what they want, thanks to the exposure they have to fitness routines and training programmes on television and the Internet.
"Consumers have also become very brand-conscious. So, they don't hesitate to spend money on a good pair of shoes if it serves their training requirements," he says. "I am amazed," Mehta of Puma adds, "at how much consumers actually know about sports shoes today. They want the right gear and are prepared to pay the price".
While higher disposable income means that consumers are willing to spend money on a good pair of shoes, this is also putting pressure on brands to come up with products that are technically sound, which not only aid in one's training routine but also help in bringing down chances of an injury.
Ironically, brands have also revised prices to appear more affordable today than a few years ago, as most aggressively compete for a greater slice of the market.
The entry-level prices of brands such as Adidas, Nike and Puma hover in the range of Rs 1,500-1,800 - a few hundreds more than the price warrior Bata's sports wear brands such as Power, which start at Rs 1,000-1,200.
Though Reebok, which was the flagbearer in affordable fitness wear among MNCs with pairs priced as low as Rs 999, has switched to a premium stand, pricing its entry-level shoes at Rs 3,000. But trade sources say this pricing strategy has been put in place primarily to cut Reebok's losses - something its parent Adidas AG has been working on since disclosing there were financial irregularities in the Indian unit a year ago. Globally, Reebok's sales were down 16 per cent in the March quarter of the calendar year, 2013.
Nike and Adidas, meanwhile, have continued their association with sporting activities in the country (as they do globally, with Nike betting on basketball and Adidas on football). Nike, for instance, sponsors running clubs in Mumbai and Bangalore, and promotes the Nike Cup in cricket. It has even associated with Manchester United in football. Adidas, in the interim, is also focusing its attention on sporting activities such as cricket and football in India.