Nike betting big on football

BANGALORE: N ike is betting big on a ground swell of support for football in India. With growing exposure to the game, football is emerging as the second most popular game in the country, cricket of course being the first love. As for Nike, while cricket continues to be its largest commercial interest in India, football is fighting hard for elbow room. Nike India is now building up football as one of its main verticals after cricket, with a complete range of product offering and exclusive football stores in the offing. The company’s other focus areas in India are women’s health and fitness, followed by emerging categories like golf, tennis and running.

Nike is now also staking claim to being the second largest player in India’s branded sportswear segment, dislodging Adidas, though it refuses to part with figures. Sports footwear alone is estimated to be worth Rs 1,000-1,500 crore. The industry has been clocking a year-on-year growth of around 30%. Reebok continues to be the largest brand in this space.

“There is a resurgence of football in big cities, mostly thanks to the exposure to the game through championships like the English Premier League. At the school level especially, there is a lot of activity,” Mr Gangopadhyay says. Nike already has in place a seven-year deal with the All India Football Federation for national teams in all age groups.

The company is tackling the game right from the under-15 level and launched its grass root initiative for football in India last year with the Manchester United Premier Cup. Now in its second year, the tournament has seen tremendous response with 16 teams participating, says Mr Gangopadhyay.

Nike is looking at new retailing formats, with focus on each sport as a separate vertical. “We see different formats emerging. It is not our intention to cram every store with all ranges that we have. We have already opened a store with only women’s wear in Chandigarh. We may soon have speciality stores for different sports,” says Mr Gangopadhyay. Nike had recently announced plans of launching vision and timewear products in the Indian market.