Reebok India Company will launch replica cricket apparel in the in February. The replica or the imitation of the clothing worn by the Indian cricket team will include t-shirts, caps, track suits, sweaters. The product will be sold under the Reebok brand.
Reebok India managing director, Siddhartha Varma, said, "Reebok is the first company to get into manufacturing of replica apparel in India. These will sport the same look as the ones worn by the cricketers in terms of quality and design."
Justifying the launch of this kind of apparel, Varma said this makes sense for the company since it recently got into an agreement with the Board for Control of Cricket in India to manufacture apparel for the Indian cricket team. "Therefore, our association with cricket is strong and the consumers can connect the two," Varma said.
The company will promote these clothes through its exclusive chain of 85 stores. Besides, the company will also use the mass media to promote the new replica range.
According to Varma, the apparel range would be targeted at all cricket lovers across all income groups. He, however, added that the market has to be developed in India for replica products. He said there was huge demand for such clothing mainly among the youth segment.
Replica marketing is extremely popular in the US, where most of the companies have their own brands of replica apparel for famous baseball or basketball teams. However, in India these kind of products are yet to pick up.
