Big plans

Calcutta, May 28: Adidas India Marketing Private Limited is crouched on the starting blocks for a dash to carve out a larger global market share with its classy range of footwear and apparels.

The Indian arm of the German giant will start exports from India by the second half of this year and plans to spend $3.5 million on expansion in retail.

The company has no plans to set up retail outlets in the country following the government’s approval of 51 per cent FDI in single brand retail.

“We don’t perceive any significant increase in foreign direct investment post this relaxation. Globally Adidas follows 100 per cent ownership model if not operating through franchisees and plans to do the same in India,” said Andreas Gellner, managing director, Adidas India Marketing Pvt Ltd. Gellner is in the city for the retail summit, The Shop.

The company would be the first from India to export sports shoes to the US and Europe, Gellner said.

Adidas will source the footwear for exports through a vendor who is setting up a factory in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on a 1,000 acre plot. The unit will manufacture 12 million shoes a year and employ 30,000. Adidas personnel at the factory will monitor the processes. More such factories are coming up around Bangalore, with two of them for apparel exports.

Adidas sources the apparels for the domestic market from factories in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Bangalore and footwear from Faridabad.

The German company has 110 exclusive outlets and plans to increase it to 210 by the end of the year.

There are 25 outlets in the east and the Northeast with seven more stores on the anvil for the regions which contribute 15 per cent to the company’s turnover in India. Smaller towns contribute 30 per cent to the company’s turnover, and Gellner expects higher revenue from these places.

The multi-brand outlets of Adidas will go up to 2,000 by 2007 from the present 1,500.

“As part of our retail expansion strategy, we plan to open flagship stores of 9,000 square feet in each metro by the next 12 months. These stores would showcase the entire range of Adidas international products,” Gellner said.