Hrithik Roshan co-owned brand\, HRX\, eyes entry into wearables space

Companies

Hrithik Roshan co-owned brand, HRX, eyes entry into wearables space

Abhishek Law Kolkata | Updated on June 27, 2020 Published on June 27, 2020

Afsar Zaidi, CEO and co-founder of HRX

Hrithik Roshan co-owned brand, HRX, is looking to expand its portfolio into categories like wearables and other adjacencies. The brand, already present in apparels, footwear and accessories, has recently entered into the audio, sports equipment and small devices space with headphones, headsets, wireless neckbands, earbuds and portable speakers.

According to Afsar Zaidi, CEO and co-founder of HRX, the company is already in talks with tech companies to enter into the wearables space with offerings like fitness bands.

Launches had been planned in April, but a pandemic and subsequent lockdown led to push-back in launch dates. The entry into this segment is now expected around October to December or early next year.

"We have entered into partnerships, and by the end of this year or early 2021, we will explore the tech and wearables space," he told BusinessLine.

Recent offerings like earphones, ear-pods or speakers were launched mid-June and are available on Flipkart.

The brand typically operates on a licensing model whereby manufacturing and logistics are taken care of by partners, like Myntra or Walmart-owned Flipkart.

Zaidi, Hrithik Roshan and Exceed Entertainment together own HRX and e-tailer Myntra is a joint venture partner in the apparel footwear vertical.

Already profitable, the brand is expecting to close the current fiscal with a revenue (gross merchandise value) of ₹500 crore. Actual revenues are generally lower.

HRX, incidentally, is now one of the largest homegrown active-wear brands and it competes with select offerings from Nike, Adidas and Puma. Other Indian active-wear and celebrity brands include ‘Shiv Naresh’ and some recent ones like MS Dhoni’s ‘Seven’; and One 8. This apart, there are a host of celebrity-owned lifestyle and high street fashion brands in India.

The size of Indian sportswear and the active-wear market was pegged at ₹37,000 crore in 2016, according to sources. The industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.3 per cent until 2021.

Apart from licences pacts, HRX has a strategic investment in fitness and gym-chain start-up Curefit. It operates in a revenue-sharing model.

Published on June 27, 2020

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