Dhoni-backed 'Fitsoul' plan Rs 350 crore five-year expansion

MS Dhoni (C) seen with the co-promoters of ‘Fitsoul,’ Sajid Shamim (L) and Parvinder Singh (R)

‘Fitsoul,’ the fitness company backed by Indian cricket captain MS Dhoni, has planned a massive expansion drive over the next five years with an expected turnover of Rs.350 crore.

“Sports and fitness is huge growth potential industry and there are no organised players. We are looking at 350 Fitsoul outlets and turnover of Rs 350 crore in five years. We will also expand our product offerings,” Parvinder Singh, the CEO of Fitsoul, said.

Another 50-60 crore could also be added through e-commerce routes felt Mr. Singh, who is also the co-founder of the company.

The company presently has six operational stores in the country, and has the backing of MS Dhoni, Sajid Shamim and Parvinder Singh.

Singh has not revealed the amount of investment that has been put into the venture at present, but has said that they were in talks with outside investors and other private equity players.

“Initially we will operate in the mass market but going forward we will also venture into premium sports equipments and gears such as golf equipments. We would need finance to support our growth plans,” Singh said, as reported by The Economic Times.

The company is targeting an initial expansion of 50 stores in the country with an investment of 10 crore. “We will open 50 stores this year. Most of them will come up in non-metros and by will mix of company owned and franchise model,” Singh added.

60 percent of the stores will be owned by the company and the rest will be mooted through the franchise model. The company also plans to open stores in the US and Canada. At present Fitsoul also has an outlet in Brisbane, Australia.

Fitsoul is in the process of developing its own private label and hopes that this will account for about 40 per cent of the sales in the next two years.

“At present, our private labels are just sports apparels but we will soon add shoes and fitness accessories too. As our product offering goes up, we expects private label to contribute 40 per cent to total sales,” Mr. Singh added.