WHY KAMAL NATH CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO ALLOW FDI IN SPORTING GOODS RETAIL IN INDIA!

Andreas Gellner, MD adidas India talks to R S Roy, Editorial Director, indiaretailing.com

The issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been debated time and again as the Indian Government has been under pressure to open up further. The policy makers continue to explore areas where FDI can be invited without hurting the interest of local retail community. Addressing the high powered industry and media meet at the release of India Retail Report 2007 and launching of www.indiaretailing.com Mr. Kamal Nath, Commerce & Industry Minister Government of India , gave firm indication on opening up of certain retail sectors for foreign direct investment (FDI).

The four sectors are electronic goods, Office equipments & stationery, sports goods, and building equipment.

While most of the segments have been well researched in terms of size and scope with performance of key players and their expansion plans and the findings have been adequately presented in the India Retail Report 2007, the need was felt to delve deeper into the subject to understand the reasoning and implications of opening these sectors to global players.

From his series of meetings and discussions, R S Roy presents excerpts of his interview with Andreas Gellner, MD adidas India to gather his view on FDI in the Sports Goods Retail Sector in India and its potential benefits.

Intro of the industry expert

Andreas Gellner, MD adidas India , has been with adidas for 12 years. His career gave him the opportunity to see retail markets from the European Heartland to Asia, where in his regional role based in HK he saw the most Asia/Pacific market in their respective stage of development. During his time as the MD for adidas in Malaysia, he was exposed in-depth to an evolving market where Retail FDI in his industry and in general was allowed.

RSR:
Give us a short glance on the history of the Sports Goods Industry and the international players in India !

AG:
The international sporting goods industry has been one of the early arrivers in the Indian market with the main players establishing their presence from 1995 onwards. At that time there was no organized retail format that could support us in reaching our consumers. Thus most of the players had chosen a strategy to build up their own channels in form of mono-branded franchisee shops. This has allowed us to gain relevant insights into the needs of the Indian consumer.

RSR:
Knowing that it is still a relatively young industry in an evolving retail sector, I'm sure that there are still misconceptions on how to define Sports Goods. Right?

AG:
I guess the very pragmatic approach for us on defining it would be: all products being used by athletes either for the purpose of practicing sports/physical exercises or for appearing “sporty”. Thus the category includes a wide variety of products such as:

•  Footwear
•  Apparel
•  Accessories (like water bottles, caps, weights, yoga mats etc)
•  Equipment (like treadmills, cricket bats, rackets, balls etc)