Glamour and Retail
Celebrities have long shared a relation with brands, endorsing products to help them reach a wider consumer base and attract maximum eyeballs. While endorsements are still the most common way in which celebrities are connected to retail, many big shots are taking this connection forward.
No longer just the face of a brand, celebs are actively investing in the growing startups ecosystem, entering a revenue-sharing arrangement with a brand and even sometimes going the extra mile and launching their own brands.
Indiaretailing Bureau takes a look at the retail startups and brands that are backed by some well known personalities.
Salman Khan – Being Human
Salman Khan, the Founder of Being Human – The Salman Khan Foundation, entered a unique licensing arrangement with Mandhana Industries Ltd to establish a clothing line (Being Human) where royalties from the clothing line support education and healthcare initiatives of the Foundation.
With an exclusive global license to design, manufacture, retail and distribute Being Human Clothing, Mandhana Industries Ltd launched the brand in 2012 in Europe, followed by Middle East and India. As of date, Being Human Clothing is available in more than 15 countries worldwide: Bahrain, Belgium, Dammam, Doha, France, India, Jeddah, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Riyadh, Spain, South Africa and UAE. It has over 300 retail and 7 online selling points worldwide including 220 retail and 6 online selling points in India.
Mandhana Industries Ltd is a diversified textile and apparel manufacturing company, listed in 2010 on the national bourses with a turnover of over Rs 1300 crores in FY 14-15 and a market cap of over Rs 900 Crores.
Hrithik Roshan – HRX brand
Fitness and sportswear brand HRX, launched in 2013, was conceptualized by Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan and Exceed Entertainment (a multi-platform entertainment management company) Founder, Afsar Zaidi. The brand has been operating in the online space since 2013 through Myntra.com. Lately, bolstered by the response to the brand and its upward sales curve, the duo plan to venture into brick-and-mortar retail in tier I and II cities.
HRX is targeting a Rs 225 crore turnover from its apparel section by the end of this fiscal. Other than HRX, Hrithik Roshan has also invested an undisclosed amount in an online retailer in 2013, the identity of whom has been kept confidential.
Yuvraj Singh – YouWeCan Ventures
Founded by Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, YouWeCan Ventures, is an initiative that helps exceptional entrepreneurs tap into new opportunities on their journey to build great brands, teams and companies. Launched in April last year, the fund has invested in multiple startups across healthcare, sports, beauty and fashion, food and travel, among others.
YouWeCan is planning to venture into the fast-moving fashion casual wear space under the YWC (YouWeCan) label. The brand has inked a deal with listed apparel maker Suditi Industries to launch its own clothing venture. Suditi Industries manufacture clothes for MTV as well as football leagues FC Barcelona and Manchester City FC. The plan involves setting up offline and online stores to promote the YWC fashion line.
Shah Rukh Khan – KidZania & Starbucks
Shah Rukh Khan has invested in ImagiNation Edutainment India Pvt. Ltd, a local franchisee of KidZania, a global chain of indoor theme parks for children. Khan acquires 26 per cent strategic stake in KidZania.
Every KidZania branch is themed as a child-sized replica of a real city, including buildings, shops and theaters, as well as vehicles and pedestrians moving along its streets.
Khan also has a revenue-sharing deal with the Starbucks store he brought to his office building in the Santa Cruz suburb of Mumbai.
Virat Kohli – Wrogn
Wrogn is a youth fashion brand, co-owned and promoted by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli. Kohli announced the launch of his brand in 2014 amidst a series of Tweets which earned him thousands of followers more on his Twitter page.
The holding company of the brand is Accel Partners-backed fashion start-up, Universal Sportsbiz Ltd (USPL). The clothing label is currently sold exclusively at 65 stores of retail chain Shoppers Stop as well as on Myntra. Last year the brand also planned to open 10 open standalone, experiential, technology-enabled stores through the franchisee route but has not open any store yet.
MS Dhoni – SportsFit
Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his debut in the world of commercial fitness by launching a chain of gyms in 2012.
In the first-of-its-kind venture for any sportsperson in the country, Dhoni’s venture, SportsFit World Pvt Ltd has opened over 200 branches all over India.
In addition to gyms, SportsFit provides customised fitness solutions, including meal-diet plan, on consumers demand. The company’s motto is to encourage people in taking fitness as a necessity, not an option, and believe in themselves.
Deepika Padukone – All About You
Retailed exclusively on Myntra, All About You is Deepika Padukone’s fashion label. Launched in 2015, the brand targets women between 18 – 35 years of age. Deepika has a revenue sharing deal with the fashion e-marketplace for this brand.
All About You aims to be a $100 million brand in the next two years.
Sachin Tendulkar – True Blue & Smaaash
Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar is a co-owner of Mumbai-based Smaaash Entertainment, a sports-based virtual entertainment company.
Smaaash launched its signature concept in 2013 with cricket pitches fitted with ball-throwing machines that replicated the pitch of world-class bowlers, including spin, and allowed gamers to face real bowling. It operates five gaming arcades in India, which offer a host of gaming options including taking strike against famous international cricketers like former Australian spinner Shane Warne and former Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.
The firm is reportedly close to raising Rs 200 crore from private equity investors to fuel its expansion plans.
Tendulkar has also recently launched a premium menswear and accessories brand True Blue in joint venture with Arvind Fashion Brands. The first True Blue store was launched in May this year. The company expects to launch about 30 stores in five years, targeting a turnover of Rs 200 crore.
Adhuna Akhtar- B Blunt
Adhuna, Farhan Akhtar’s ex-wife decided to make great styling her life passion and founded of one of the most famous salon chains, BBlunt and opened the first store way back in 1998 in Mumbai. Today, Bblunt has over 17 salons across India and UAE.
In addition to salons, BBlunt runs two training academies and just last year launched hair care products which are being sold nationwide. The products are retailed through all the major e-commerce websites like Nykaa, Amazon, Snadpdeal and various supermarket chains.
Bblunt partnered with Godrej, a fore runner in the FMCG league, to study Indian hair in depth. They then brought all of the finest products from around the world and set about understanding what made them good and how they could be bettered. The result was the BBlunt product range.
Bipasha Basu, Malaika Arora and Sussanne Khan – The Label Corp
Mumbai-based editorial e-commerce lifestyle brand The Label Corp has signed on Sussanne Khan, Malaika Arora and Bipasha Basu for its three labels – The Home Label, The Closet Label and The Trunk Label – respectively.
The three celebs not just curate and endorse the labels, but also own a stake in them. The company recently got into an exclusive partnership with Amazon.in to retail its merchandise.
Akshay Kumar, Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty – Best Deal TV
Founded by Bollywood Superstar Akshay Kumar, Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Entrepreneur Raj Kundra, Best Deal TV is India’s first celebrity driven 24/7 Home shopping channel. It specializes in the sale of consumer products via innovative and immersive on-screen experiences.
Launched in March last year, Best Deals TV is a home shopping channel that capitalises on celebrity endorsement. It is a platform where brands with a celebrity associated with it (as owners or co-partners in most cases) are sold via the tele-shopping model. It launched with a range of apparel and accessory products under actor Shilpa Shetty’s brand.
Prakash Jha – P&M Infrastructures Ltd
P&M Infrastructures Limited is a real estate development organization focused on conceptualizing, designing, creating and managing unique model of family entertainments centers (FEC) comprises of shopping malls, multiplex, entertainment, hospitality, education centers & farmer centers.
The company builds lifestyle shopping centers in the Tier I and II cities of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orrisa & West Bengal in India with a plan to cover all potential districts and attract specialty retailers. P&M Family Entertainment Centers are single-point, multi-utility destinations for shopping, food and entertainment – built with well-planned retail amenities that can meet the changing needs of new-millennium consumers.
The company – under the leadership of 54-year-old filmmaker Prakash Jha and his longtime associate Manmohan Shetty – is changing the face of Bihar by setting up agri-malls in each of the state’s districts. Foreign investors have stakes in the company, and Indian brands like Big Bazaar, Adlabs, Raymond’s and Siyaram have opened outlets.
Shradha Kapoor – Imara
Imara, a clothing line co-created by Bollywood actor Shradha Kapoor, was launched in February 2015. Priced between Rs 799 to Rs 3,999, the clothing line has been designed by Shradha in collaboration with Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd. Shradha Kapoor also has a stake in the label.
It is currently retailed across Shoppers Stop and Myntra.
