Athlete with Pro clothes

MARKETING: A special line of sports clothes that promises to reduce fatigue factor in sportsmen.

Indian fast bowler S Sreesanth might not have broken into a sweat while doing a little jig in front of South Africa's Andre Nel on Sunday in Johannesburg, but he definitely must be steaming in his clothes even as he takes wickets.

For sportsmen like him, Nike has launched a special line of clothes, Nike Pro ,which helps in reducing the fatigue factor in athletes and dries sweat quickly.

Says Sanjay Gangopadhyay, director marketing, Nike India, "Athletes generally wear a first layer of clothes before donning their jerseys, and that is where the idea of providing compression fit product came into being."

Nike Pro has been designed from a special fabric which quickly soaks the sweat and keeps athletes fresh.

The price range for Nike Pro starts at Rs 1,100 and goes up to Rs 2,300. Nike conducted research to find that compression fit actually helps increase the efficiency of the muscle by reducing vibration, which causes energy loss and muscle fatigue.

The target audience for Nike Pro is amateur athletes and fitness conscious people. Nike is also looking at tying up with sports academies and schools to provide budding athletes the right kind of sports wear.

"We haven't set any targets for ourselves as it is a concept product. All we are looking at is to make people aware of improving their performance through our product," says Gangopadhyay.

The concept of technology-based layers to aid performance is catching on with athletes. Football star Wayne Rooney and basketball superstar Lebron James have been using it for a long time and Nike claims that they are very happy with the product.

While Nike has long-term contracts with both the BCCI and All India Football Federation and would be providing Indian footballers and cricketers Nike Pro, it is also eyeing other sports.

"Apart from professional players, we want people to realise that this concept actually helps in improving the performance be it on a 5-mile run or in the gym," he says. But isn't that what expanding the market is all about?