Reebok India says it expects FDI license in a month or two

Reebok India said the company is expecting a license probably in one or two months over its application seeking Government approval for 100 per cent FDI to open company-owned stores.
“We (Reebok India Company) will get the license may be soon, perhaps, in one or two months from now. You never know in India, but yes, we are waiting for the response from the Government,” Senior Marketing Director Silvia Tallon told PTI.
She was speaking ahead of the launch of fitness hub by Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor here.
In November 2015, Adidas, the parent company of Reebok, had received approval to open 100 per cent foreign-owned large Adidas outlets in India, she said.
Replying to a query, Tallon said the company plans to open six more stores next year across India at right location and at right price, besides at right time.
“We do not want to expand where investments are not worth to make. We are panning to open six more stores in coming year, but they will be in the right place, price and time. As you know, there is retail pressure on us,” she told PTI.
Tallon said Reebok plans to invest in women’s fitness segment where other brands have not invested.
“We plan to invest in women’s fitness segment like crossfit and training, combat and fight and running,” she was quoted by PTI as saying.
She said Reebok has tied up with American fighting promotion company Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). “UFC is opening its first gym in Mumbai and plans to have 200 gyms in India,” she told PTI.
MMA is globally dominated by brands such as Bad Boy, Hayabusa, Venum and Tapout, she added. Tallon also said UFC and MMA are the fastest growing disciplines globally and in India too. Reebok also plans to sign celebrities like Malaika Arora and Kangana Ranaut to build Brand Reebok in India, she said.
Other than roping in celebrities as brand ambassadors, the company is investing in digitisation and e-retailing to sell their products, Tallon said. However, the company does not invest only in e-commerce, but also in omni-channels, because the consumers are possessing different technological devices for making purchases, Tallon said.
“And, this does not mean that we are going to do away with giving brick and mortar experience to consumers. We need the stores to provide the excitement and experience the consumers want to have in our stores,” she was quoted by PTI as saying.