Indian cricketer Virat Kohli announced in a post on microblogging platform X on Monday that he has partnered with Indian sportswear startup Agilitas Sports.
“A new journey begins for one8 and Agilitas,” he wrote in the post.
One8 is Kohli’s lifestyle brand, inspired by his jersey number 18. It includes ventures such as One8 Commune restaurants and an athleisure line with Puma.
Agilitas Sports was founded in 2023 by Abhishek Ganguly, former MD of Puma India and South-East Asia. He had worked closely with Kohli since signing him with Puma in 2017, in a deal worth around Rs 110 crore, during which the One8 lifestyle-athleisure label was launched.
In April, Kohli ended his deal with Puma, turning down their Rs 300 crore offer to renew for another eight years, and chose instead to invest in Agilitas.
“…when the offer came through and he (Ganguly) made me understand the force behind it, the manufacturing capabilities, the expertise that he has, and the kind of people that were going to come on board, I thought this could become something big and of course, I wanted to be a part of it,” Kohli said in a video shared along with the post.
He added, “This has been designed by people of our own, made here.”
One8 will be housed and scaled under Agilitas. The company will spearhead its retail expansion across India and globally.
In September 2023, Agilitas had acquired Mochiko, India’s largest sports shoe manufacturer, in an all-cash deal funded through $52 million (Rs 430 crore) raised from investors, including Convergent Finance LLP.
Mochiko, based in Gurgaon, manufactures shoes for brands such as Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Skechers, Reebok, Asics, Crocs, Decathlon, Clarks, and US Polo.
In December 2023, Agilitas raised an additional Rs 100 crore from venture capital fund Nexus Venture Partners. As part of this investment, Suvir Sujan, MD of Nexus Venture Partners, joined Agilitas’ board as an advisor.
