Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur weaves its way into the Paris Olympics legacy

Back Bay India from India's textile hub weaves the Olympic spirit into official IOC stores and volunteer uniforms

The Olympics may be kicking off in Paris on July 26, but the ripples of its celebrations are already felt 8,000 kilometres away in Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu. If you see ‘Made in India’ apparel in any of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC’s) retail channels, it may well come from this textile hub, manufactured by a company owned by a mother-daughter duo called Back Bay India.

On Friday, at their textile town office, Deepa Jayan and her daughter Aishwarya were preparing to export their final shipment of apparel to Paris. They had already exported nearly 1 million pieces when Business Standard called them.

 

Their apparel products will be available at stadia and other official retail outlets, with a small quantity supplied to volunteers. Considering that 8.8 million tickets have been sold and 13.5 million tickets are expected to be sold during the Olympics, Back Bay’s apparel is expected to make waves in Paris this season. The company will also supply the Paralympic Games. The IOC is targeting total sales of around €2 billion through its official channels for the world’s largest sporting event.

“We have been working on this for some time and shipped close to 1 million pieces so far. Around 70 per cent of the orders are for the Olympics and the remaining for the Paralympics. We have six manufacturing units working under us,” says Aishwarya, who now heads the company’s operations.

While her mother started the company in 2004, Aishwarya joined the team, leaving her job at Goldman Sachs almost a decade ago.

For the Olympics, the micro, small, and medium enterprise company is working for its primary client, French player Cotton Division, led by NRI businessman Sandeep Narayan.

Back Bay also supplied products for the Rugby World Cup in France in September 2023. The contract was awarded through the IOC’s official licensing programme.

According to the organisers, these items are part of the event’s celebrations. Official licensed products in all categories — apparel and accessories, gifts and novelties, toys and games, publishing, lottery, stamps and coins, luggage and travel items, stationery, school supplies, and more — will be made available through official retail channels.

Roughly 60 companies, both French and international, are expected to develop 10,000 references of officially licensed products featuring the Paris 2024 colours, according to one of the IOC’s statements.

“We have six manufacturing units working under us and aim to increase our revenue four-fold by 2030,” Aishwarya said.

“Not many companies in textile manufacturing are run by women. Over the years, through the credibility we’ve built, we are having a smooth run. We focused mainly on apparel, though our client also supplies all kinds of products. For one or two events, we have supplied dresses for volunteers,” she added.