1. Source: Economic Times, 11th February 2010SUBHINDER SINGH PREM MD, REEBOK INDIA In India, cricket has made us a masstige brand HE HEADS the biggest sports and fitness brand in the country, a brand that enjoys over 54% market share in India. Yet Reebok India managing director Subhinder Singh Prem is still running to the fun beat. A company displaying challenger mindset, Prem says that the brand will continue to expand operations, explore new distribution models and offer innovative products to the consumers. Reebok recently unveiled My Name is Khan collection, which is a fusion of sports and lifestyle and is targeted at a growing, globally sports and fashion conscious Indians. In an interview with Amit Sharma, Prem discusses about winning strides of Reebok. Excerpts:Your brand has been quite proactive in exploring marketing tie-ups. Tell us more about the strategy. We have explored a new distribution route through tie-ups. With over 900 stores in 325 cities, we have the largest distribution network in the country. But over the years, the pattern of shopping has changed a lot in India. Earlier, people used to go to the store to shop. Today, they go on the internet, direct media or they order stuff over the phone. Young India is experimenting with shopping in a very different way. One of the big things in favour of home shopping is that it gives us great pan-India reach. The price of the goods is kept low because many consumers are experiencing the brand for the first time. So, it is more of a penetration strategy where we try and get more people to experience the brand. Other great brands like Whirlpool are tying up with us, which means that they are seeing us as a good value add, incentivising purchase through Reebok products instead of doling out price discounts. So, it is a win-win for every party involved. But we have to make sure that the association has to be synergetic. What is the next step in the evolution of brand Reebok here Sometimes companies tend to relax when they become the leader. But we have tried to always challenge ourselves. And as industry leaders, it is our responsibility to innovate and make people look at this industry in a different manner. Take, for instance, the Easytone campaign. Targeting women in their 20s and 30s, the project prompts people to Re-think the definition of sport. The sneakers are designed by NASA engineer Bill McInnis and the balance pod system generates up to 28% more activity on the muscles than ordinary trainers. Through this campaign, Reebok is positioning the brand as a lifestyle sportswear company rather than a hardcore sports brand. We also want to bring joy back in sport and fitness. Then we came up with HexRide shoe that enables people to do things faster. So, the key is to ensure people enjoy getting in shape. The communication had Bipasha Basu and MS Dhoni running together, being playful. We are also into the kids business. We created a website where they could have fun playing games and contests and we got over two million hits on that site. We have done innovation in colours, styling and have tied up with fashion designer Manish Arora to launch collections. Your brand is largely perceived to be a cricket-only brand in India. Do you agree with the label?It would be inappropriate to say that. Yes, we do have a strong association with cricket in India. But cricket is one sport that appeals to all consumer segments. It helps us become a masstige brand- a mass brand with prestige. Then there is football. Globally, we have footballer Thierry Henry as our brand ambassador. In fact, his line of clothes is doing very well with Indian consumers. We sponsor the top three football clubs in India including East Bengal club and Mohun Bagan. In tennis we are sponsoring eight budding tennis players of the country.<br />