Virat Kohli’s lifestyle brand One8 will be housed and scaled under Agilitas, he informed through a post on X
In a major development, Indian cricket star Virat Kohli has partnered with Indian sportswear startup Agilitas Sports. Kohli’s lifestyle brand One8 will be housed and scaled under Agilitas, he informed through a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter straight from my heart. A new journey begins for one8 and Agilitas, driven by purpose and ambition. Taking one8 home to Agilitas,” Kohli wrote on X. The company will work towards spearheading its retail expansion across India and globally. One8 is Kohli’s lifestyle brand which includes ventures such as One8 commune restaurants and an athleisure line with Puma.
Abhishek Ganguly, the former managing director of Puma India and South-East Asia, worked with Kohli when he signed the cricketer with Puma in a deal worth around Rs 110 crore in 2017. In 2023, Ganguly founded Agilitas Sports. Earlier this year, Kohli ended his deal with Puma and reportedly turned down a Rs 300 crore offer for another eight years.
Sharing the rationale behind the move, Kohli added, “When the offer came through and 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.”
Reports noted that Agilitas acquired the sports shoes manufacturer Mochiko in September 2023 in an all-cash deal. The deal was funded through USD 52 million raised from investors. Based in Gurgaon, Mochiko makes shoes for major brands like Adidas, Puma, New Balance, Skechers and many more.
