Agilitas Sports secures rights to design, make, promote, distribute Lotto brand for 40 years

Agilitas founders from L to R: Amit Prabhu, Abhishek Ganguly and Atul Bajaj

Agilitas Sports, a full-stack sports startup founded by former Puma executives, has acquired the brand licence for Italian sports brand Lotto from owner WHP Global for 40 years, co-founder and CEO Abhishek Ganguly told Moneycontrol in an interview. The deal gives Agilitas Sports the exclusive rights to design, manufacture, promote, and distribute the brand in India and Australia and will soon be extended to South Africa, he added.

Lotto is the first brand in Agilitas’ consumer business portfolio. Agilitas aims to create an end-to-end chain of all things related to sports, from manufacturing to retail, and what it cannot build in-house it will acquire companies that have expertise in the field.

In September, Agilitas signed its first-ever deal and acquired Mochiko Shoes in an all-cash transaction. Mochiko is a contract manufacturer which makes shoes for companies like Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Skechers, Reebok, Asics, Crocs, Decathlon, and Clarks in India.

“Agilitas will invest in a dedicated management team to grow the Lotto brand through product creation, design innovation, supply chain, branding, marketing, and channels of distribution,” Ganguly told Moneycontrol.

Agilitas will pay WHP Global a royalty during the period for every unit it sells. The amount is typically a percentage of the total sales. Lotto will target customers in the mass to mid premium category with shoes ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on various factors, Ganguly added.

India’s footwear market is worth Rs 11,000 crore and is projected to record a CAGR of 13 percent till 2030. Sports footwear accounts for 16 percent of the footwear market and is the fastest-growing segment, the company said.

"We are delighted to embark on this journey with Agilitas Sports. We are impressed by the expertise of the company's founders in the sportswear and athleisure market, along with the comprehensive business model they have crafted at Agilitas,” Stanley Silverstein, chief commercial officer at WHP Global, said.

Agilitas has set up a dedicated factory in Noida for Lotto. With an aim to launch by early 2025, Agilitas plans a multi-category offering in footwear, apparel, accessories and sports equipment.

Ganguly, who was earlier Puma India and Southeast Asia MD, co-founded Agilitas along with Atul Bajaj, former executive director–sales and operations, Puma India, Amit Prabhu, former chief financial officer, Puma India.

The company has raised Rs 530 crore in a year since its inception. Of the total, Rs 430 crore came from Convergent Finance LLP, an investment management and advisory partnership led by Harsha Raghavan and Rs 100 crore came from Nexus Venture Partners.