A lot of focus and attention has moved to women’s activewear
HRX is India’s first home grown fitness brand which is a forerunner and pioneers at several path breaking initiatives in the world of fitness. Fibre2Fashion speaks to HRX Business Head Pallavi Barman, who is also the founder of LAP Ventures, which is in the business of brand creation and collaboration around celebrities, with celebrities for celebrities.
Close to 10 years of existence, how has HRX evolved as a sportswear brand? How has the sportswear niche in India changed in the last 10 years?
As HRX, we have been privy to the evolution of fitness and fitness wear.
When we started out as India’s first home grown fitness brand, fitness itself was a nascent phenomenon in our country. We had men use the same bermuda shorts for sleeping in as well as for their morning walks and we had the ladies in their salwars and sneakers and very few who aspired to build bodies found ways of accessing gyms. That was the landscape amidst which we launched. The legacy brands had the ownership of the premium consumer base as well as the majority fitness market because no one offered serious competition.
For activewear shoppers the usual ticket size was on the higher side and accessibility was poor. That was the set stage for us to make a dent by introducing quality mingled with affordability and functionality. Along with the product we also created a clarion call for people to join the fitness movement with Hrithik Roshan as our leader, inspirer, motivator and mentor.
With coming in of Cult gyms, fitness became more and more democratised and HRX’s foothold became firmer in the Indian soil.
What is the size of the sportswear market in India?
The Indian sportswear market is sized at approximately ₹1,600 billion, and it is expected to grow at a 14-15 per cent rate.
Which points of sales have worked well for HRX?
HRX is an e-commerce brand.
While omni-channel is the way to go for any retail player, we have maintained our exclusive e-commerce stature for nearly 10 years now. HRX apparel and footwear is available on Myntra and FK and some of the allied fitness categories like sports and fitness equipment and audio also sells on FK.
We have benefitted by passing on the cost advantage to our consumers. An e-commerce only brand has lesser overheads and hence our advantage has translated into benefits for our consumers luckily. We are today able to offer some best of the line quality at the most affordable prices to our fans, followers and consumers thereby ensuring that they get maximum value out of their HRX purchases.
What are your best performing categories online and offline?
We are available only online and the best categories undoubtedly are men’s tracks and joggers and T-shirts and women’s sports bras and T-shirts.
Our footwear is making ripples now, with the advanced tech and R&D, our performance ranges are being loved and liked by not just beginners but also the ones in athletic pursuit.
Which are your best performing markets in India for apparel, footwear and accessories?
We continue to be hot favourites in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Pune and Navi Mumbai. These have been our top markets consistently and now we are also able to woo our north-eastern brethren.
What makes HRX different from other sportswear brands?
We are India’s first home grown fitness brand.
We understand our consumers in and out and customise for Indian body types both for men and women.
We are high quality yet affordable.
We are meant for the everyday fitness enthusiast and not just the athletes.
We are progressive and nimble and very very flexible.
We at HRX are all super users and consumers ourselves and this enables us to feel one with the customers easily.
Sportswear as a category has grown to have trends of its own. What kinds of materials, styles, finish and colours are in vogue this year?
This year it’s about the very peri and the burnt orange and the pastels.
Earthy shades, feathery light cotton fabrics mixed with Lycra, recycled polyester, comfortable silhouettes that ensure flexibility, stretch ability and breathability are all the norm now. Cotton polyester, Nylon spandex and polyester spandex find common use in our industry on a daily basis.
A lot of focus and attention has moved to women’s activewear where trends and functionality are leading to some path breaking styles, designs and inputs.
What can be expected from your next apparel and footwear collection?
HRX latest collection offers matching sets or co-ords, loungewear, jackets for layering, tees with colour accents, deep crotch shorts for mobility, muscle tees with enhanced panel tracks, everyday functional workout wear and some funky accessories.
HRX has also launched its premium Edge collection to cater to the more fashion savvy who prefer subtleties and precision and love their basics and classics. The Edge collection is live on Myntra and is a must see for every fashion-conscious soul.
What has been your growth story for the last two years and what is the expected growth for the next two?
Last two years were in general tough for businesses and recovery has been steady for most. The setback was not huge for us with God’s grace because people continued to pursue fashion with some fervour and discipline all through the pandemic and additionally the ones sitting on the fence about getting into fitness practices also took the plunge and got initiated thereby increasing the market size. So, irrespective of the headwinds or the tailwinds we have managed staying afloat and this year seems to be the promising one.
To sustain the growth over the last years, multiple categories have been grown at HRX and the ranges have been widened. We have also worked on nurturing and growing our on-ground communities across various sports and verticals like yoga, training, football, running, cycling, calisthenics and more.
What are your plans with respect to offline expansion? Which new products are in the pipeline?
HRX brand today pans across apparel, footwear, innerwear, eyewear, audio, HRX workouts and gyms, sports and fitness equipment, bicycles, smart wearable tech and hot healthy cloud kitchen offering.
The next plan is to grow and develop the HRX grooming line and fragrances and the sports nutrition category to close the loop of the basic needs of any enthusiast or athlete, who pursues fitness on a regular basis to become the best version of themselves.
Published on: 22/07/2022
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
