Key Points
- As early as around 2010, Anta attempted to enter the Indian sporting goods market through agency or partnership models, but its overall presence remained very weak and it eventually withdrew step by step.
- This return is implemented by local Indian partner Brandman Retail, positioning itself as a high-end brand in the market.
- According to the market expansion plan, Anta will open a total of 10 stores across India by March 2027.
According to multiple media reports, Chinese sportswear giant Anta Sports has officially returned to the Indian market after an absence of more than five years.
This comeback is being implemented by local Indian partner Brandman Retail. The first store is scheduled to open next month in Gurugram, a satellite city of New Delhi, signaling that Anta will once again target the world’s most populous consumer market.
Reportedly, under its market expansion plan, Anta will open a total of 10 stores across India by March 2027. In terms of brand positioning, Anta will focus on the premium segment of India’s sporting goods market. The average price for apparel will be around 8,000 rupees (about US$85), while footwear will be priced at roughly 9,000 to 10,000 rupees on average. At the same time, the partner also plans to open four dedicated stores this year for Wilson, the tennis brand owned by Anta Group.
It is worth noting that Anta has previously made moves in the Indian market: as early as 2020, it had already opened stores in India.
However, Anta’s business model for this return is completely different from the strategy adopted earlier by fast-fashion giant Shein when it re-entered India. Public information shows that Shein must cooperate with Reliance Industries under a strict licensing agreement and its products are supplied by local Indian vendors; Anta’s partner Brandman Retail, on the other hand, will directly import products manufactured by Anta in China and sell them through its own e-commerce platform and offline brick-and-mortar stores.
For the full year 2025, Anta Sports’ revenue increased by 13.3% year-on-year to 80.219 billion yuan, while profit attributable to shareholders rose by 13.9% year-on-year to 13.59 billion yuan. But in terms of its main brand, Anta-branded revenue in 2025 was only 34.754 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth narrowing to 3.7%. Confronted with intensifying domestic competition and slowing growth at home, Anta is accelerating its search for new growth curves overseas.
On the broader map of global expansion, Anta has been very active in recent years. In the North American market, after opening its first U.S. flagship store in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles in September 2025, Anta announced in December of the same year that it would enter mainstream sports retail channels across Europe and North America such as Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods, leveraging NBA star Kyrie Irving’s signature shoe line to break into the premium basketball segment.
In Southeast Asia, Anta is steadily advancing its “1,000-store plan,” aiming to establish 1,000 retail outlets in this emerging market by 2028. Its latest return to India is clearly a crucial move within Anta’s globalization strategy aimed at “emerging markets in South Asia.”
According to local Indian partner Brandman Retail, Anta holds an extremely optimistic view of India’s massive growth potential. After leaving India for several years, Anta is now seeking to rebuild brand awareness among Indian consumers through a refreshed premium positioning and a measured brick-and-mortar rollout.
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