The premium sportswear market now has one more player – Italian lifestyle brand Fila. This would be the US$1.5-billion brand’s second innings in India as it had earlier entered into a licensing agreement with Cravatex eight years ago. Fila plans to launch its apparel line in close to 800 retail outlets which includes shop-in-shops and multi-branded outlets. “We also plan to open four exclusive showrooms, starting with one in Mumbai. In another three years, the store count is expected to be increased to 60-70, mostly in metros and Tier I cities. The stores will be a mix of high streets and malls with an average size of 1,500 square feet. Of course, new Fila stores will fill the business of signage companies operating in the retail segment.
