Adidas to spend $3mn on India expansion

Addressing reporters here after opening the country's first sport performance centre in Bangalore, Andreas Gellner, managing director adidas India, said the company was looking at opening 90 to 100 smaller format SPCs as well, targeting small and medium towns.

In SPCs adidas displays its sporting association by including fixtures such as product bars that resemble a football field, weightlifting bars, shoes that rest on runners' starting blocks and fitting rooms that stimulate a locker room feel.

The Bangalore SPC is spread over 9,000 square feet in two levels presenting a broader range of adidas athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. For the first time, over 3,000 square feet of floor space has been set aside for women, said Gellner.

Opening up FDI in retail sector upto 51 per cent for single brands has not excited adidas, "51 per cent does not impact us and we prefer 100 per cent then only it makes a difference," he said.

Adidas India which has licensed Apache Footwear to manufacture sports shoes in India at Nellore in Andhra Pradesh is to go on stream in September this year.

"The Nellore facility can manufacture 12 million shoes and is expected to cater to both exports and domestic markets," said Gellner.

"With this the company has attained 40:60 imports and domestic manufacturing in India. In addition to the Nellore plant, the company also has four to five other contract manufacturers making non sports high-end shoes," he added.

The speciality footwear market in India is estimated to be around Rs 700 crore and is growing at a fast pace at 20 to 25 per cent annually.