We Want to Take the Brand Into More Countries Globally, Says Lokesh Mishra of Rhiti Group

by  EVENTFAQS Bureau Marketing | October 6, 2020 | Interview

SEVEN Rhiti Group Chennai Super Kings

SEVEN is an Indian fitness and active lifestyle sportswear brand under the banner of Rhiti Group and also the official apparel partner for Chennai Super Kings (CSK). SEVEN is also the official kitting/ clothing partner, associate sponsor and the official merchandise partner of CSK this IPL season that started from September 19.

In an exclusive interview with EVENTFAQS Media, Lokesh Mishra, COO, Rhiti Group, an integrated sports marketing and management company with expertise in wide range of services, shared insights on the association with CSK, digital activations, return on investment, future plans and more.

Seven has been associated with CSK since IPL 2018. Tell us how the association has helped your brand?

The biggest benefit about our association with CSK is visibility, Mahendra Singh Dhoni being a very important and integral part of the team, close association was possible and it was quite easy for us. Our brand is currently visible, being the associate and merchandising partner of the CSK team; we are doing the entire kitting for the players to wear during matches and off matches. Players use SEVEN's clothing during travel, during training, whatever they are wearing during this IPL season all has been designed and created by SEVEN, and comes with a SEVEN logo as well.

The association definitely gives us encouragement to acquire more deals in future, be it ICC or any other international tournament. In terms of revenues, because in India Bollywood and cricket sell the most, and being in cricket season, we do have a lot of other supporting merchandise which we can very easily sell in the name of IPL. There is a lot of stuff on fangear, products which we specifically create, design, make and sell during this time. After visibility, I think the revenues are another big advantage, which has come as a result of this association.

Tell us more about the contest organised for IPL fans. What are your strategies to gain maximum audience engagement through this contest?

As of now, in 2020, India is suffering business loss revenues through offline stores, whether it is a brand’s own store or distribution network or any other work where physically stocks are being kept or sold. e-commerce is the only medium where roughly we can make our products live, we can post as many products and sell. To get more and more revenues and good numbers on the top line, we have devised this strategy of engagement for consumers.

As IPL is not being conducted in India this year, do you hope to get maximum returns on the investment made?

On the first day, IPL was watched by 20 crore people from India and abroad, earlier we could not have those numbers because it was just a random guess or association. We did have this kind of fear, but as we are progressing ahead, it’s been almost two weeks since IPL started, we have not seen any revenue loss or any difference in our topline. We are probably getting more mileage, and it has helped us in other ways - roadshow to sell merchandise to countries where IPL is being conducted, which is primarily UAE, which has premium stores. Probably if IPL was still being played in India, we would not have reached there.

In a way, it has helped us reach international markets. So, we are quite happy about it.

What are your future plans for the Rhiti Group?

We want to take the brand into more countries globally. We have already registered the brand in more than 50 countries. The goal would be to launch our brand in all those markets and sell it successfully and emerge as an Indian global sportswear brand.