As the head of Puma in South Asia, Abhishek Ganguly for years had maintained that there is no reason why there cannot be a homegrown Indian athleisure brand with $1 billion in sales in the years to come. Last year, Ganguly quit Puma after almost 18 years with the company to strike out on his own. Ganguly is now taking a stab at that goal with his independent venture Agilitas Sports.
"In 7-8-9 (years)," Ganguly said when asked about when Agilitas could clock a billion dollars in sales. "I would not shoot myself if it takes 10 (years)," he added.
"Having a billion-dollar revenue Indian sports company, I think that there is the opportunity that lies... I can tell you that (we are) creating Agilitas as India's largest sports platform, which is also globally relevant at some point in time, but of course focused on India to begin with," he explained. Some investors are voting with their wallets to Ganguly's optimism. So far, Agilitas has raised ₹530 crores from investors in two rounds of funding, including ₹400 crore from Convergent Finance LLP funds, ₹100 crore from Nexus Partners Ventures and another ₹30 crore from family, friends and the founders.
In September 2023, Agilitas fired the first salvo by acquiring Dehradun-based Mochiko, India's largest manufacturer of sports shoes, for an undisclosed amount in an all-cash deal that was funded from the money the newbie had raised in 2023 from investors. Mochiko-that contract manufactures footwear for global brands including Puma, Adidas, Reebok, New Balance, Skechers, Asics, Crocs, Decathlon, Clarks and US Polo among others-gave Agilitas a head-start: The 15-yearold company has factories in Uttarakhand and Noida, outside of New Delhi and employs more than 10,000 people.
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