Sachin Tendulkar to Start a New Inning With a Sports Athleisure Brand

Sachin Tendulkar, the flamboyant cricketer and master blaster nicknamed the "God of Cricket" for his extravagant career, is preparing to launch a new sports athleisure brand to test the waters of the sports market. Sachin has teamed up with Karthik Gurumurthy, the former head of Swiggy Instamart, for this endeavour. A media report states that the great cricketer will be joined by another former Swiggy executive, Karan Arora, to further expand the brand.

The venture has already been registered with a holding company. Tendulkar and Whiteboard Capital, an early-stage venture capital firm, were allegedly the incubators of the startup.

Records revealed that presently serving on the board of directors of the holding company known as SRT10 Athleisure Pvt Ltd. are Tendulkar and Whiteboard Capital.

Tendulkar on the Driving Seat

According to the information available in the public domain, Tendulkar, who is widely recognised as one of the most famous cricketers in the world, continues to earn a substantial fee for his brand endorsement deals.

However, his involvement with the new business does not involve a transaction where the startup offers the celebrity a stake in exchange for being the public face of the brand. Tendulkar and the other cofounders are working closely on the projects.

Sports Goods Demand is on High in India

Health and fitness awareness, as well as the demand for sporting items, are at record highs throughout the nation. Shoe sales make up roughly 60% of the sports goods sector, while garment sales account for 30%. The rest are found in the accessories. Entrepreneurs and investors are showing a growing fascination with the sports goods market.

Investors such as Nexus Venture Partners contributed INR 550 crore to Agilitas Sports, the venture capital firm founded by Abhishek Ganguly, the former head of Puma India. For 40 years, Agilitas had the Indian licence for the Italian shoe brand Lotto. Some other modern shoe companies that aim to attract athletes are also in discussions with venture capitalists about expanding their businesses. Firms that have been around for a while include Adidas and Puma.

Sports Celebs and Their Ventures

An increasing number of superstars, both domestic and international, are launching businesses, with some going on to sell for $1 billion or more. Tendulkar is the latest in this trend.

Puma and Indian cricketer Virat Kohli have worked together on several projects, including the One8 shoe line and Kohli's ownership of a stake in Universal Sportsbiz Pvt Ltd (USPL), the parent company of the Wrogn brand. Deepika Padukone, MS Dhoni, and a slew of other famous people are investors in new businesses. Beauty and skincare brand 82E is run by Padukone. Katrina Kaif is the face of Nykaa KK, a cosmetics line that she co-founded with Nykaa.

List of Startups Funded by Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin has maintained a catalogue of being an investor along with his successful cricket career. His investments include Smartron, JetSynthesys, etc.

StartupTalkyIpsita Acharya