Agilitas Sports buys Virat Kohli's One8; cricketer joins as investor

The former Puma-licensed label One8 is now a fully-owned standalone brand under Agilitas Sports, with Kohli as investor; global rollout planned starting with the US.

Indian sportswear startup Agilitas Sports has acquired Virat Kohli’s sportswear and athleisure brand One8. The Abhishek Ganguly-promoted firm has also brought the cricketer on-board as an investor in a two-part deal.

 

One8, which was earlier licensed to Puma, will now be fully owned by the Indian-origin company.

 

Ganguly, a former managing director of Puma India, moved on from the sportswear giant to launch Agilitas Sports in 2023.

 

“Virat is no longer just a part of One8. He is now an investor and shareholder in the company,” said Ganguly, co-founder and chief executive officer at Agilitas Sports, in an interview with Business Standard.

   

He said that the earlier version of One8 operated in collaboration with another brand (Puma), but under Agilitas it will be developed as a standalone independent label.

 

Ganguly confirmed that Kohli has invested ₹40 crore in Agilitas Sports, though he declined to disclose the exact equity stake the cricketer will hold.

 

Talking about how Agilitas aims to shape the next phase of One8, Ganguly said, “It is very important that you build this as a high quality premium athleisure brand from India, and which is absolutely as strong as any other global sportswear brand.”

 

He added that Agilitas will pursue a multi-channel distribution strategy, and by mid next year the company will open the first dedicated One8 store.

 

“There will be a whole roster of products which will be launched under the One8 brand and global distribution will start in the next 12 to 15 months, and the US will be our first market,” Ganguli said.

 

Ganguly said the brand will also expand into the UK and Australia as part of its international rollout.

 

Discussing the price positioning, he noted that One8 shoes will be priced between ₹4,000 and ₹10,000. In India, the products will be available through a shopping app, a web store, marketplaces, and shop-in-shop formats, along with exclusive brand outlets, each spread across 2,500–3,000 sq ft.

 

One8’s offerings will include shoes, apparel, and functional lifestyle products designed to be worn both on and off the sports field.

 

In an X post, Kohli said that while evaluating the opportunity to invest in Agilitas Sports, Ganguly helped him understand “the force behind it, the manufacturing capabilities, the expertise he has, the kind of people that were going to come onboard.”

 

Kohli added, “I thought this could become something big and of course I wanted to be a part of it.”