Apparel label eyes sports incubation in Chennai

The company is aiming sees itself as a sports incubator as well with Rs 85 crore investment planned over the next three years to set up exclusive brand outlets across South and the rest of India. 

The company retails its products such as racing jerseys, cycling shorts, race bibs and bicycle friendly casual wear at specialty bicycling stores across the country, including a cycling-themed café in Chennai. Briefing us on why he made his foray into the Activewear market is Bachi Pullela, the Managing Director of 2GO Activewear.

Pullela hails from a family of leather titans (Bachi Shoes India is his family-run concern in which Tata International Limited acquired a majority stake in 2010). 

He says, “I have been a cycling hobbyist for many years now. And I saw a business opportunity in quality and affordable cycling gear for sport enthusiasts. What we had in India were international brands that were priced exorbitantly and not really targeted at the cycling crowd. So we decided to go with our USP – of being India’s first brand to retail exclusive cycling gear.” 

Pullela’s company is also looking at its role as a sports incubator seriously as he reveals, “We are very interested in building lifestyle ecosystems around cycling, specifically and other sports around India.

 We were the official apparel partner for the recently concluded Wipro Chennai Marathon and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them this year as well. As part of promoting various forms of urban sport and supporting local sporting communities, we have become the apparel sponsor for Ciclo Team Racing, which is India’s only Elite Amateur Racing team.”

With so much excitement prevalent in this region, with regard to cycling and sporting in general, the company has set its sights on the future, with plans for expansion in the pipeline. Pullela explains, “We have made a conscious decision to retail our products only in cycling-specific shops as we are keen on building a buzz around the sport. 

But, we will be taking the next step by opening as many as 12 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) across India during this fiscal. The first EBO has already been set up in Bengaluru. By next year end, we should hopefully have at least 40 EBOs nationally.”

He adds, “As this segment is quite large, we plan on making considerable investments in retail space, marketing, supporting sports events and groups. An amount of Rs 85 crore has been earmarked for the same, over a period of three years.”