Latest news with #AmbienceMall
Time of India
4 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Underdog Athletics to add up to 10 Under Armour stores every yr, eyes 3-fold rise in retail revenue
Underdog Athletics , the exclusive distributor and licensee for US-based athletic performance apparel and footwear brand Under Armour in India, plans to add eight to ten stores every year eyeing up to three-fold rise in retail revenue, a senior company official said. Underdog Athletics is aiming retail revenue of around Rs 1,500 crore in next five years, according to its Managing Director, Tushar Goculdas . The brand, which had opened its latest format brand house store at Ambience Mall, Gurugram last week, plans to enter five to ten new cities in India, while strengthening presence in major cities where it is already present, Goculdas told PTI. "Last three years, we have had a stable growth of around 25 per cent. This year also, we expect to grow at 25-odd per cent. In FY25 we reached retail value revenue -- the value of products purchased by the consumer actually -- of Rs 500 crore," he said when asked about the brand's growth since Underdog Athletics became Under Armour's exclusive distributor and licensee in India in 2021. On the road ahead, Goculdas said, "From here on, we will continue to grow in the 20 plus per cent range. At a five-year horizon, it will take us to maybe two-and-a-half to three times the revenue in that time frame." When asked about store expansion, he said, "We are at 49 (stores now) and our plan was always, since the beginning, to open eight to ten stores every year. We are sticking to that plan this year. "We have a target of eight to 10 stores, and hopefully we'll be somewhere there, It is not a hard and fast target for any particular year, but that's a long-term average that we want". In terms of cities, he said currently Under Armour is present in 30 cities with about 16-17 stores in the three big metros -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore. "We are not going to expand very aggressively into new cities although there are few more where we have opportunity to a three year horizon, there are five to ten cities where we can enter," he said, adding these include Patna, Ranchi, Varanasi, Siliguri and Visakhapatnam. Goculdas further said, "We will continue to add more stores in the existing cities as well. We will add in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. In Bangalore also, we have the opportunity to add more stores." PTI RKL DRR
NDTV
11-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Neeraj Chopra Points Out Problem Area In His Game, Coach Says: "Don't Go..."
India's star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday said he has identified a problem area in his game and is looking to address it at the earliest, as he seeks to win a second world championship gold medal later this year. Chopra, who is the strongest Indian medal hope in the September 13-21 showpiece in Tokyo, will be training in Prague and Nymburk in the Czech Republic for 57 days along with his legendary coach Jan Zelezny. He will be heading out with his physio Ishan Marwah tonight and be based in the European country till September 5 at a total cost of Rs 19 lakh. "I have already identified the areas I need to work on. While throwing the spear I tend to fall too much on my left side. We need to work on that. In training I don't do that, but in competition, it happens because of the extra effort I put in," Chopra said. "Coach is saying don't go too much on left and we are working a lot on this area because the power and strength which I need to put in javelin I tend to waste it. We are also working a lot on run-up. "In some competitions like Paris Diamond League and Doha Diamond League it was good but in Bengaluru it wasn't because there was a bit of headwind also. In Ostrava, I had the feeling that I can throw well but the run-up and technique wasn't good," he added. The double Olympic medallist said he also needs to work on his consistency to hit the 90-mark more often. "I have achieved 90m this year. But I need to be more consistent to achieve it more often. I am continuously around 88-89m, and my coach said he is happy, but I need to be more consistent," Chopra said during the launch of Under Armour store at the Ambience Mall here. Needless to say, his next big target is to finish on top of the podium at the World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo from September 13 to 21 this year. "My next target is the world championships and I want to win there. Before the world championships, I will plan with my coach and see which event I can compete to best prepare for it," Chopra said. Chopra has high regards for his new coach Jan Zelezny, who he idolises. "My coach is very good, he has been a very good, legendary athlete. As a person also he is very helpful. He is working a lot on my technique. I do well in training but in competitions I am not being able to get the technique right. I tend to mix up old and new technique," he said. Asked about his plans for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Chopra said: "There is still time to think and plan about Olympics, why to take tension about it now. But the process is on. There is no point in thinking about future, need to go step by step." The Indian ace recently hosted the inaugural Neeraj Chopra Classic, a world-level javelin throw event in Bengaluru, and he is overwhelmed the by response the tournament got. "Feeling very good, it was tough. I was wondering will it be successful, will people come to watch. But people came, almost 15,000 plus crowd was there. People enjoyed and loved the event. "The experience was different and I was a little worried because the competition was after my name. I was working on all small details, from food to lodging, taking good care of foreign athletes. The feeling here was that I had invited them for a treat at my home." Chopra said his coach too was very happy that he could bring a world-class javelin event to India. "He was happy and thanked me that I brought a javelin event to India. He is very close to javelin, he has given his entire life to it and still working on it as a coach." It was also the first time that Chopra participated in front of his family, something he will cherish for a long time. "My family came to Bengaluru and they felt really good, first time my family members saw me competing live. In fact my mother started crying when I fell on my first throw. My grandfather was also there, he took his first flight, he is 75 plus now," he said. Chopra now wants the next generation of Indian javelin throwers to better his feats. "I want the next generation Indian javelin throwers to go one step above me. I want them to be the best and be mentally and physically strong. They should have belief that they can do it." He also said that the government is fully supporting sports and Indian athletes. "We are getting a lot of support from the government, especially those athletes who are preparing for the Olympics. They are getting a lot of help from TOPS. A lot of rules are changing for athletes. I also hope that we have more qualified Indian coaches," Chopra said.
Fashion Network
02-06-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
New Balance holds Grey Days campaign event in Delhi
Footwear brand New Balance debuted its annual Grey Days campaign event in India with a fashion show at its exclusive brand outlet in Ambience Mall in New Delhi's Vasant Kunj. The event was designed to spotlight the label's signature shade and design philosophy and celebrate the enduring symbolism of grey in the brand's identity. 'Whether you're new to the brand or a longtime loyalist, grey embodies the promise of everything that sets New Balance apart,' said Brian Lynn, global vice president of lifestyle at New Balance, in a press release. 'Grey Days 2025 showcases its diverse appeal.' Originally adopted in the 1980s to differentiate from bright-coloured synthetic running shoes, grey became New Balance's visual signature. The design choice was designed to reflect the grit of urban road running and stand for craftsmanship, quality, and fearless independence. Grey Days 2025 presented grey as a symbol of limitless possibility, applied across a range of footwear and apparel, from archival looks to contemporary designs. The highlight of the Delhi event was a fashion show featuring key styles from the Grey Days collection. Artists, stylists, sneaker collectors, and fashion influencers were among the attendees, engaging in curated in-store experiences. 'Grey Days debuting in India marks a major milestone for New Balance," said New Balance's India country manager Radeshwer Davar. "We've more than doubled our retail footprint in the past year, and this momentum shows the brand's rising significance in the Indian market.'
Mint
28-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Inside India's first Lego store in Gurugram
I still remember the first time I held a Lego brick. It was in the mid-80s, and my father had brought back a police command base set from one of his trips abroad. It soon transformed into a suburban home, then a makeshift moon base as we added bricks and pieces from other sets over the years. Fast forward nearly 40 years, and life's come full circle as I travel the world and drop into Lego stores to pick up sets that I can build with my now 12-year-old. Yet, each visit to stores abroad, from New York to London, has always raised one question—when will it come to India? Well, that question has finally been put to rest as Lego threw open the doors to its first Lego Certified Store at Ambience Mall in Gurugram. Spanning 4,500 square feet, it is the brand's largest store in South Asia. Walking into it felt like stepping through a portal, with the scent of fresh plastic bricks, the multicoloured explosion of sets lining the shelves (everything from the Friends and Icons to the Technic and the Botanicals collections), fully built sets on display, play tables, and features that are essential to Lego stores, like a Pick-a-Brick Wall, Build-a-Minifigure Station and a rare Minifigure Factory. Then there are the uniquely Indian models and installations—a near-life-sized cricketer minifigure greeting fans as they enter the store, and a 13,589-piece mosaic of India Gate. The pièce de resistance is a scaled-down 76,000-piece model of the front of a typical Indian truck; fans can pop behind the wheel for a photo. Bhavana Mandon, country manager at Lego India, says the brand has been very mindful to deliver a rich Indian experience, and that little elements of Delhi and its cultural fabric will be visible across the store. John Seemon, a techie and a passionate Lego collector for over 25 years, acknowledges the tantalizing role that the built-up sets play in influencing his purchases: 'More than once, I've ended up buying a set that wasn't on my radar…something about seeing the finished build pulls you in…the kind of inspiration you don't get when shopping online". On launch day, the store was bursting at the seams. In between the squeals of children and adults posing for photographs with their purchases, I caught a quiet moment at the Build-a-Minifigure station where an eight-year-old girl outfitted a character to look like herself, and exclaimed, 'This is me, Mumma!" to her mother. In that moment, I was taken back 40 years, to the kid who first discovered his lifelong love for this 'highly sophisticated interlocking brick system' we know as Lego. If you're new to the brand, walking into a LEGO store can be a viscerally overwhelming experience, even as the stores are organized neatly into the various themes and categories (toddlers, adults) for most folks to walk right up to the shelves that most interest them. Close at hand are the LCS staff, all of whom are well trained to answer questions, offer recommendations, and assist with purchases, and many of them share that infectious love for building. For a brand that's been aspirational in India and sustained by generations of parents bringing back sets when they travelled abroad, the availability has improved over the past five years, with big toy retailers and e-commerce platforms stepping in. The store adds a touch-and-feel experience for the growing Lego fandom in India, from the interactive play zones where children can sit and build—no screens, no instruction, just raw imagination at work—to the Pick-a-Brick wall, where serious builders can buy large quantities of specific bricks for their custom builds. Vimal Sasidharan, a Bengaluru-based commercial pilot and a collector with close to 100 sets, says he is 'always blown away by the seeing life-sized builds in stores, and the ability to interact with incredibly complex builds up close serves as a reminder of how playful and limitless creativity can be". Lego collectors and builders, this writer included, have often bemoaned the fact that India trailed global launches by months, and some sets never came to Indian stores. Seemon says he has sourced sets and parts from abroad in the past, and had to 'deal with international shipping, and pay customs. It's been a bit of a mission every time". The certified store is likely to address this gaping void, with near-same-day availability as the rest of the world. Dhara Mehta, a media professional turned education entrepreneur, who was introduced to Lego via her three-year-old's interest in the sets, runs an activity centre in Mumbai that aims to spark creativity and imagination through these bricks. As a learning tool for children, it improves fine motor skills, spatial reasoning and problem-solving abilities while fostering creativity, patience and social skills, she says. 'This is not just a toy for kids but a superb hobby for adults to pick up as well," she adds. Ritam Bhatnagar, a media entrepreneur, is another adult super-fan who created a custom Lego mosaic for the launch. For AFOLs (adult fans of Lego) and long-term faithfuls, many of whom have kept the fandom alive despite the odds, the store is a place for community, to congregate with like-minded fans. Some, as Seemon describes it, see it as a pilgrimage, where fans of all ages are welcomed. And leave, likely with lighter wallets, happier. Fan's Glossary AFOL: Adult Fan of Lego MINIFIGURE/MINIFIG: Little Lego people included in most sets MOC: My Own Creation, anything built with Lego bricks without instructions BUILDER: Lego fan whose primary interest is building MOCs COLLECTOR: Lego fan whose primary interest is collecting official sets STUD/ANTI-STUD: The circular bumps on the pieces that fit inside the anti-studs below another piece to form Lego's interlocking system
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
The Lego Group launches first certified-store in India
MUMBAI: The Lego Group on Friday launched its first certified store in India at Ambience Mall, Gurugram, in collaboration with the Ample Group. The Gurugram store will be followed by a second launch at Bengaluru's Brigade Orion Mall in June, with more stores planned across the country in the coming years. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Spanning over 4,500 sq. ft., the store is now the largest Lego Certified Store in South Asia. 'India is one of our fastest-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, and we see strong long-term potential here. For the last three, we have been growing at a strong double digit growth and expected to build on that growth momentum in the next five years as well. Our strategic focus is on building a deeper connection with Indian families through a robust retail and brand presence. The opening of our first Certified Store in Gurugram marks a key milestone in this journey. It is the first step in a phased expansion plan that will see us open more stores across key cities,' India is one of our fastest-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific region, and we see strong long-term potential here. For the last three, we have been growing at a strong double digit growth and expected to build on that growth momentum in the next five years as well. Our strategic focus is on building a deeper connection with Indian families through a robust retail and brand presence. The opening of our first Certified Store in Gurugram marks a key milestone in this journey. It is the first step in a phased expansion plan that will see us open more stores across key cities,' Bhavana Mandon, Country Manager at LEGO India told TOI. The company is also contributing to the broader toy ecosystem through initiatives like its collaboration with The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to support the upskilling of toy designers and engineers in India. Alongside regular workshops and build sessions in-store, the firm aims to expand access to its global portfolio and create more locally relevant experiences. 'India has a strong foundation of curiosity and imagination, and we are committed to supporting it by growing our presence in a way that puts creativity, community and long-term value at the core,' Mandon said.
