Cure.Fit buys Fitness First in growth push
From plans of going global, to launching a full range of sports apparel and merchandise, Cure.Fit, run by Myntra’s founder Mukesh Bansal and ex-Flipster Ankit Nagori, has lined up a mega growth strategy for the Indian as well as the global markets.
The Bengaluru-based health and fitness start-up acquired premium brand Fitness First in an all-stock deal. This will help the company quickly expand in the Delhi-NCR and Mumbai markets.
The deal will see Los Angeles-based asset management firm Oaktree Capital Management, which owned Fitness First, acquire minority stake in Cure.Fit. The firm did not share any further details of the deal, including the valuation of Fitness First. “The key reason we went ahead with this deal with Fitness First is because it has a strong presence in Delhi and Mumbai, two markets we are yet to penetrate into,” said Mukesh Bansal, cofounder of Cure.Fit. “Part of our strategy is inorganic growth,” he added.
The company plans to launch a whole range of merchandise under its Cult.Fit platform by end of this year. It has already hired chief designer for Myntra’s brand Roadster Gautam Kotamraju to go ahead with the plans.
The fitness start-up plans to bring in a whole range of sportswear, accessories on the lines of French sporting goods giant Decathlon and sell it on its platform as well as on other e-commerce sites. “Our members keep on asking for Cult tshirts and other merchandise. We give out some as this helps us in branding. That is how we realised that Cult, which is a pure fitness brand, can be used to sell sports apparel and merchandise. And, it can be a hit. We want to make the Cult brand something like Decathlon,” said Nagori.