
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand known for holding various athletic brands and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), today announced the signing of a strategic agreement that gives ABFRL the exclusive rights to distribute and sell Reebok products through wholesale, e-commerce and Reebok branded brick and mortar stores in India and other ASEAN countries.
This marks the entry of ABFRL into India’s fast-growing sports and activewear segment. The company is expecting the brand to grow to USD 13 bn by FY24 at an annual growth rate of 14 per cent. The addition of Reebok’s India operations will add more firepower across all major fashion and lifestyle segments that the company added over the last seven years.
The company aims to build India’s leading sports and athletic lifestyle brand. It will partner with Reebok Design Group (RDG), a newly R&D centre based in Boston on all product design, development and innovation to create a unified brand voice and vision.
Ashish Dikshit, MD, ABFRL said, “As Indians get more active, athletic and health-focused, their consumption of apparel and accessories is expected to increasingly change in line with these trends, providing an opportunity to build iconic brands of global repute. Reebok is one of the leading brands in the sporting goods industry globally and has built a very strong presence in the Indian market over the last two decades. In partnership with ABG, we plan to accelerate Reebok’s business in India, combining its global appeal and salience amongst Indian youth. This transaction further strengthens the ABFRL portfolio and increases our ability to engage with consumers across various need spaces.”
Corey Salter, CEO, ABG said, ” ABFRL is a champion of the fashion industry in India with proven expertise in building and operating large-scale lifestyle brands across the region. We are very pleased to expand our existing partnership with ABFRL, which includes Forever 21 and other ABG brands, and are confident that ABFRL will be successful in solidifying Reebok’s position with the amount of growing audience in India and Southeast Asia.”
At the time of filing this story, the shares of ABFRL were up by 13.90 points trading on Rs 280.05 per piece on NSE as compared to 13.55 points trading on Rs 279.60 per piece on BSE.