Brands
Agilitas Sports acquires Virat Kohli’s One8
BENGALURU: Agilitas Sports, the manufacturing-to-retail sports platform founded by Abhishek Ganguly, has acquired one8, the sportswear brand co-created by Virat Kohli. As part of the deal, Kohli joins Agilitas as investor and co-founder of one8, strengthening a long-standing partnership centred on performance-led design and global ambition.
Agilitas, which spans manufacturing, R&D, brand-building and retail distribution, bolstered its capabilities last year with the acquisition of Mochiko Shoes, India’s largest sports-footwear maker. Bringing one8 under its fold gives the company a consumer-facing brand to anchor its expansion plans.
Kohli said the decision to move one8 to Agilitas stemmed from the group’s depth in manufacturing, design and nationwide distribution. “Movement, comfort and performance define everything for me, and that philosophy naturally shaped the brand,” he said. “What inspired me to bring one8 to Agilitas was the depth of its manufacturing, the strength of the people and Abhishek’s expertise.”
Ganguly said the collaboration builds on an ethos of discipline and ambition. “The one8 mindset is about taking risks, trying the unknown and never settling,” he said. “Together we are building a high-performance brand from India with the ambition to be globally meaningful over the next decade.”
In its next phase, one8 will expand into high-performance footwear, training apparel and sports-led lifestyle products, aiming to position itself as India’s first global sports brand built on athlete-first design and technical innovation.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
