Reebok International Limited, the British producer of athletic footwear, apparel, and accessories is all geared up to expand its presence in India by soon foraying into its 3,500 crore worth branded kidswear market. The year-end will, thus, see Reebok India belt out an exciting range of kidswear covering sports and casual footwear, apparel and accessories for children to 600 of its stores. It will target kids in the 5-12 age group. This popular sportswear company has roped in its brand ambassador MS Dhoni, India’s cricketing hero to promote the kiddy’s range too.

 

Interestingly, the investment being incurred by Reebok to launch kidswear in India is double of what it incurred while launching its adult apparel range. The tagline of the soon-to-be launched kidswear range by Reebok says ‘I Am What I Am’, thereby highlighting that fact that children nowadays are more individualistic. The global sportswear range that Reebok will launch for boys include RbK Tech Sports, Classics, Edge, Metromobility, Core and Sprint Fit. The sportswear for girls’ will comprise RbK Sweets, Dance Academy, Rhythm, Tech Sport and Workout.

 

Other global sportswear brands that already have significant presence in the Indian kidswear market include Nike and Adidas.  Some other popular names include that of the Holland-based Oilily, Italian brand Monnalisa, US-based Gymboree and Raymond’s Color Plus. It is learnt that these brands are witnessing a healthy growth of 20 per cent each annum. The total worth kidswear market in India is 15,000 crore, of which branded comprises only Rs 3,500 crore. There is, thus, a lot of scope for growth of branded kidswear segment in India.

Apart from opening exclusive showrooms, Reebok India has come up with innovative ideas to promote its kidswear brand in the country. For instance, the sports brand company has come up with a ‘school shoe programme’, under which it has tied up with a number of Indian schools like DPS, GD Goenka and so on for a subtle branding for its footwear. Its parent company Adidas is also sponsoring a number of football and cricket matches across institutions and proffering sports scholarships to youth. Reebok has also collaborated with Cartoon Network for merchandising options.