Cricketer Deepak Chahar Launches New Brand ‘DNINE Sports’

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New Delhi: Cricketer Deepak Chahar has bootstrapped to launch his own sports line, DNINE Sports. This is less than a year after he launched his fantasy sports app. The sports line will have an investment of ₹2.5 crore and will retail products like shoes for cricket, clothing and accessories, etc. The company will be incorporated under the entity LCDC Athletics Private Limited and will have the cricketer and his father Lokendra Singh Chahar as co-founders.

The cricketer told Mint that for now the company is not looking for any external investment and could potentially see a breakeven in its athletic shoes business by year two. It will also retail health supplements which will be made by a third party, Weolive. On the other hand, the company’s shoes and other gear will be made through contract manufacturers in Rishikesh and Dehradun.

“The idea was to create affordable products for young and upcoming athletes. A lot of young cricketers cannot afford to spend on good quality products and that can impact their game and even cause injuries,” said the IPL bowler. The brand has sponsored some upcoming first-class cricketers and IPL players in the game’s most recently concluded season and plans to expand its support in the upcoming season. It is already retailing its products, both online and offline.

Chahar appears to be following Virat Kohli who has successfully set up a licensee brand ‘One8’ along with Cornerstone Sports LLP. The licensee brands are in the business of athleisure clothing, fragrances, footwear and restaurants and pubs.

Earlier this year, the cricketer, along with his wife Jaya Chahar had set up tech venture JCDC Sports Private Limited which runs Trade Fantasy Game. Jaya said the company has acquired about 70,000 organic subscribers. The duo had earmarked ₹5 crore for this venture and is deploying so gradually. The company also intends to add casual sports games to its portfolio now in the coming months. For this venture, it expects EBITDA positivity by 2026.

While no overarching data is available, Mint had reported earlier that by 2025, the men’s and women’s casual-wear market in India is expected to touch $15 billion, up from $7.7 billion in 2020. It is also estimated that the Indian footwear market was valued at ₹126 crore in 2022, according to the business intelligence website Statista.