We have aggressive sales and marketing plans
Noida-based Alcis Sports is an Indian sportswear brand, owned by Paragon Apparels, which was started in 1999. Alcis offers high-end performance wear and athletic leisure sportswear. Ravish Nanda, director of Alcis Sports speaks about their journey and their expansion with Fibre2Fashion.
How did the journey of Alcis Sports begin?
Alcis Sports began with an idea to provide international quality sports merchandise at affordable prices to Indian consumers, who have turned extremely health and fitness conscious in the last decade. I have over 20 years of experience in this industry out of which 12 years were spent with Adidas, where I developed and produced sportswear for top Indian teams and players. I provided the kitting for the Indian contingent for the Olympics, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games and the South Asian Federation Games. I was also the first person to develop the Indian Premier League (IPL) team uniforms in 2008 for 4 Reebok-sponsored teams. Apart from these, I have developed and provided kits for Indian Super League (ISL) teams, Formula 1, Davis and Fed cups in lawn tennis, and Airtel Half Marathon. It is this passion for sports that got us the idea to start our own domestic brand.
What is the USP of your brand in terms of manufacturing capacity?
We have about two decades of experience in manufacturing for top international brands, such as Adidas, Reebok, Puma and Benetton. Hence, we have tremendous knowhow of international quality standards, which we are bringing in Alcis products. Second, since we are vertically integrated, our go-to-market time is much less than our competitors.
Please share details of your retail presence and price points across categories. Which price points sell the most?
We are currently present at 20 locations of retail chain Central, 40 stores of Sports Station, five Shoppers Stop outlets, and on Jabong and Myntra. In addition, we are present at more than 500 points of sales across India in distribution. Our starting price point is Rs 499 for core running tee-shirt. In winter wear, our highest current price point is Rs 3,499 for a jacket. The biggest segment for us is below Rs 1,000.
Why did you go only for an online presence?
We went online initially because of the scalability that the online channel offers so that we could launch and expand quickly. However, we are now expanding aggressively in the distribution and large format stores. We will also soon start our first monobrand store.
What collections do you offer in high-end performance wear as well as athletic leisure sportswear?
We have presence in the following categories: running, training, yoga, racquet sports and core. Apart from these, we also have the license for National Basketball Association (NBA) and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) fan wear merchandise, making our presence felt in the basketball and football space. These are categories that have become extremely popular due to the declining interest in cricket.
How sustainable is the process for the environment?
Alcis Sports believes in going green - we are environmentally conscious as our fabric unit has zero waste discharge. In terms of environmental sustainability, we buy recyclable yarn to make our garments.
Tell us about the technologies used in your production.
We are using dry tech + (moisture wicking) , anti-odour , anti-static , recyclable polyester yarn , soil release , 360 degree reflective and soft touch technologies in majority of our products. We call our apparel an equipment as it equips the user to perform better.
Which are your major markets?
Our biggest market is north India, followed by the western and southern parts of the country.
What are your plans for the Indian market?
We have aggressive sales and marketing plans. We plan to expand in all sales channels. In the offline arena, we are targeting large format stores, distribution and monobrand stores. From marketing perspective, we plan to be visible in the mass media through advertising and make our presence felt through grassroots marketing and public relations. For example, we recently provided kits to 130 athletes from India who participated in the World Police Games in August in Los Angeles.
What innovations are you coming up with for your recently-acquired clients NBA and FIFA?
We are providing innovative designs and fabrics. Our FIFA tee carries the message 'Proud to be Indian' as the U-17 World Championship is happening for the first time in India.
What is the size of the global sportswear market? At what rate do you expect it to grow?
The size of the global sportswear market at present is $321 billion and is projected to grow at 7 per cent CAGR. The size of the Indian sportswear market is about Rs 6000 crore and is projected to grow at 24 per cent CAGR, reaching Rs 34,000 crore by 2025.
What is in demand most - menswear or womenswear?
While from a sales perspective, menswear sells more but there is a substantial gap in the womenswear segment. As the demand for womenswear is much more, our range offering comprises 40 per cent womenswear compared to the industry standard of 25 per cent that top brands typically earmark. In online segment, half of our sales comprises womenswear.
Where do you source your material from?
We have our own manufacturing unit, Paragon Apparels Pvt Ltd. About 90 per cent production is done in house.
Where do you see Alcis Sports in five years from now?
Our ambition is to become the leading sportswear brand of India in the next four years.(PA)
20230103183907.png)
