Outgoing Puma India MD's Startup Raises INR 430 Crore Funding Agilitas Sports aims to disrupt and redefine the sportswear industry by seamlessly integrating innovation and technology across the product value chain from the factory floor to the retail shelf
By Teena Jose
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Outgoing managing director of PUMA India and South East Asia Abhishek Ganguly, along with two other outgoing executives from PUMA India, have launched a sportswear and athleisure solutions platform called Agilitas Sports. They have raised INR 430 crore. Convergent Finance has invested INR 400 crore and the rest came from individual investors.
"Agilitas Sports aims to disrupt and redefine the sportswear industry by seamlessly integrating innovation and technology across the product value chain from the factory floor to the retail shelf," said Abhishek Ganguly, founder of Agilitas Sports, in a statement.
As per the founder, Agilitas aims to create an end-to-end chain of all things related to sports, from manufacturing to retail and what it cannot build in-house, it will acquire companies that have expertise in the field.
During the interaction, according to a moneycontrol report, Ganguly said he had 'multiple inbound interests' from the investor community for his company, thanks to the network, connections and conversations he had during his time at Puma, but chose Convergent for their speed of action and their long-term investment horizon.
Furthermore, the statement added that the fundraise comes days after Puma announced on May 11 that Ganguly will be leaving the company to start his own venture. Also, the startup's other partners are Atul Bajaj, the outgoing executive director – sales and operations of PUMA India, and Amit Prabhu, the outgoing chief financial officer of PUMA India.
"(They are a team of) exceptional professionals and have an outstanding track record of building a sports and athleisure-focused business from scratch to become India's largest. Their strong leadership capabilities are complemented by their skill in identifying consumer trends early... we believe that Agilitas represents the next step in the evolution of India's consumer story," Raghavan, Managing Partner at Convergent Finance LLP, said in the statement.
