The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, which acquired the franchise-rights of Pune cricket team earlier this month, will soon appoint a CEO for spearheading its sports business.
The appointment is aimed at leveraging sports to promote the company’s brands nationally and internationally, said Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of the group.
“Sports is our new vertical and we are planning to appoint a CEO who will take care of this new business,” Mr. Goenka told The Hindu . The group now has presence in football, through Indian Super League, where its marked its foray in 2014. It now co-owns a football team Atletico de Kolkata (ATK). “Our vision is to grow the business of sports while promoting sporting talent in the country. We plan to set up a football academy in this city.. I believe there is talent which needs to be nurtured.”
Mr. Goenka didn’t disclose the amount of funds earmarked for the sports business and said the investments would be made through group companies. “But they are not the listed companies.”
The Pune-franchise was bought through a reverse-auction by New Risings, an unlisted group company.
The global sports sector is estimated to be worth between $480 and $620 billion However, in India, sport is yet to be recognised as a sector and there is no comprehensive study on the industry’s estimated size in the country. The sports sector may comprise several segments such as sports tourism, sporting goods (manufacturing and retail), sports apparel, sports marketing firms and sport governing bodies, according n KPMG report.
Due to a lack of industry status and lack of sports culture, corporate investment in sports in India has traditionally been limited to corporate social responsibility activities, according the recent report. The commercial success of Indian Premier League (IPL) in cricket has led to a surge of similar commercial formats in other sports such as badminton, football and hockey. Reasonable success of the Indian Badminton League (IBL) and the Hockey India League (HIL) — sports that don’t enjoy the same popularity as cricket — has shown that leagues are a good medium for generating interest and driving sports culture besides the potential return on investment.
With the burgeoning middle class of India and an increasing disposable income, media coverage of international and domestic sports and television and internet penetration, the time is opportune to form an organised sports sector with requisite policy support that further facilitates sports commerce and leagues of this nature, according to the report.
The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s game-plan is to promote the group brands nationally and internationally, by leveraging the “tremendous people-connect that sports has in this country,” Mr. Goenka said.
The Group has presence in diverse sectors. This ranges from power distribution to entertainment and plantation business. It operates in cities such as West Bengal, New Delhi, Gujarat, and Kerala. Its IT venture FirstSource has major exposure in the U.K. while retail operations are throughout India.
