"The demand is everywhere in India. Our experience going to towns below a population of about three lakh is that the demand and money is there, but there is no access to international brands," Andreas Gellner, managing director, Adidas India said in Bangalore.
Adidas finds India as a market, next only to Japan and China, which is gearing up for the 2008 Olympics, but sees the Indian growth to peak around the same time when Beijing hosts the Olympic games.
"It's an opportunity and a challenge in India. In China, you may have to focus on big cities to capture the market. But here it is different. In India, you may be in the top 10 cities, but there is money and demand everywhere," he said.
According to industry estimates, the Indian market for international branded goods like Reebok, Adidas and Nike is about Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion) annually. "This year the market is expected to grow at around 15 per cent to 20 per cent, I see it accelerating over the years" Gellner said.
Adidas declined to comment on investments for revenue projections in India. "We constantly invest funds in retail and marketing" he said.
We have good brand equity and aim to translate the strong equity, by improving the product mix and being aggressive on distribution," Gellner said.
Adidas's products are sold through over 750 outlets, which include 76 franchisee outlets across India, which he said, will be expanded to about 1,000 including an additional 40 franchisee units.
"The number growth in India, it will be in the smaller B and C cities," he said.