After establishing a strong presence in sports goods category, German firm Adidas today announced the launch of its lifestlye brand 'Originals' in the country and said it will also introduce two other brands.
With a focus on top 4-6 metro cities, the company on Wednesday unveiled its first 'Adidas Originals' outlet here as it plans to open half-a-dozen more such stores in next one year.
"The new brand is a premium category range and apart from the existing sports performance products available in India, we are focusing on metros as it is not a mainstream range," Adidas India Managing Director Andreas Gellner said.
The company would also launch its women's range Stella McCartney next year in India, while its Y-3 collection by Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto is expected to be available here in a couple of years depending on the designer's choice.
"Y-3 is a very exciting range and India has a small market for it, wait for a couple of more years and we may open the first store in Mumbai," Gellner said, adding "early 2008
will be an good opportunity for Stella McCartney in India".
The Adidas Originals store offers fashion-conscious consumers with a range of products across footwear, apparel and accessories that are totally apart from the collection available at Adidas sports performance stores.
Globally, 'Originals' range contributes 30 per cent to the company's total revenue, but in India it is looking at a five per cent share of the total sales in the first year.
"Adidas has over 200 outlets in the country, which are expected to increase to 250 by this year-end," he said.
Earlier this year, the company had announced a retail expansion that will entail adding over 100 stores every year to become the number one sports goods brand in India by 2010.
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