Reebok doubles sales in India as Aditya Birla pushes rapid store expansion

MUMBAI: Reebok laces up a stronger pace in India as the sportswear label continues to sprint ahead, with sales more than doubling over the past three years under its current ownership structure.

The brand, now managed in India by Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd, has expanded its retail footprint to over 210 stores and is preparing for an even sharper expansion drive across metros and smaller towns.

Speaking during a recent earnings call, Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd deputy managing director Vishak Kumar said the brand’s growth story is still in its early innings, with significant room left to scale.

“We have about 210-odd stores in the network for Reebok. The runway is much larger than that. Network expansion will continue. Forty to fifty stores per year for the next few years should be par for the course, unless we do more than that,” Vishak Kumar said.

The company reported that Reebok delivered around 30 per cent growth in the latest March quarter, powered by a mix of strong same-store sales and fresh store additions.

According to management, the brand has nearly doubled in size since it came under the Aditya Birla group’s stewardship around three years ago, supported by both network expansion and product-led momentum.

The turnaround has been shaped by the long-term licensing arrangement signed in 2021 between Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Ltd and Authentic Brands Group, which granted exclusive rights to distribute and sell Reebok products in India and select ASEAN markets. Following a subsequent corporate restructuring, the brand now sits under Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands Ltd.

Kumar said the growth engine is firing on multiple cylinders, from steady like-for-like sales expansion to new product launches that are helping refresh consumer interest.

He highlighted the performance of recently introduced categories, including the Multi-Court Shoes range, which has received strong market response and is being viewed internally as a breakthrough product.

“My sense is that both like-to-like growth and expansion on Reebok should continue for some time to come,” Vishak Kumar said, adding that the company is backed by a robust pipeline of store openings.

The expansion strategy is not limited to major cities. The company is actively targeting emerging retail hubs and smaller towns, which it sees as key whitespace opportunities for future growth.

“There are very strong whitespaces in Reebok because we have a lot of catching up to do. New malls and locations are continuously emerging across the country and we will tap into those opportunities. Small towns have also been a good source of growth and we will continue to focus on them,” he added.

Industry observers note that the brand’s strategy blends aggressive physical retail expansion with product innovation, a combination that has helped it build consistent double-digit like-for-like growth.

With momentum building and store openings set to accelerate further, Reebok appears firmly on a growth track, though management maintains that the real opportunity still lies ahead rather than behind.