With a motivation to build a community around sports, Tennis icon Mahesh Bhupathi has launched a new brand ‘Zeven’.
Bhupathi, along with former Nike country manager South Asia Hemchandra Javeri, will focus on building Zeven as a multi-sport, multi-product and multi-channel brand in India.
Affordability is the primary motive on which the brand wants to rest its credibility to connect better to the audience who seeks sports apparel and garment. They are planning to launch the brand with an offering of tailor made footwear and apparel and will eventually expand in the coming months across sports and range.
The founders announced that the company has spent about US$ 4-5 million in research and trials over the last 1-2 years. The focus will be across sports like hockey, cricket, football, badminton and tennis.
The products will be designed in India but sourcing will be done globally. The footwear will be made in China, while apparel will be manufactured in India, Sri Lanka and other countries. With special attention given to Indian culture and requirements, keeping in mind body fit, size and comfort the brand has decided its exclusive range.
Javeri mentioned that the company will start selling these products (priced Rs 1,900 onwards) through its own portal and is in discussions with other marketplaces to expand its reach. The company is also looking at retailing its products through modern offline retail as well as sports-focussed stores. It will also look at setting up ‘sports adda’ to help enthusiasts meet and connect with sports icons.
With Zeven, the company wants to create a brand that the country will be proud of in the time to come. Zeven has already signed great names including athlete Khushbir Kaur for their speed walk category and former beauty queen turned actress Lara Dutta Bhupathi for their gym and fitness,” Bhupathi said. Lara was also recently seen pumping some energy into the brand’s reputation and her husband’s initiative with some impressive twitter posts through her personal twitter handle.
