Get personalised tees for all your sports needs from T10Sports.com

With over two decades of international expertise, T10sports aims to bring its global experience to the Indian domestic market and also aims to serve corporates, schools and institutions. T10Sports offers customised/personalised sportswear/t-shirts and casual wear. It operates through direct institutional sales/online sales and the retail format. T10Sports’ product portfolio extends from segments like work wear, gifts to sports and leisure.In conversation with Abhilasha Dafria for YourStory.in, Bindu Todi tells us about how he takes pride in being ‘glocal’.

What is the story behind the name?

The number 10 is associated with sport icons like Tendulkar, Maradona, Pele, Michael Jordan, etc. Most of our sports jerseys are personalised with the number 10. T is associated with tees! Our promoters have over 50 years of accumulated experience in apparel and textiles. T10Sports signifies a sports inspired brand – we promote sports and a healthy lifestyle. This is a Harvard Business School Alumnus initiative.

Who are your manufactures?

We manufacture high-end sportswear and value added products in-house. We have a dedicated manufacturing facility in Udhyog Vihar, Gurgaon for the same. Besides, we have dedicated vendors for promotional tees, caps, bags and other accessories. We have invested in the latest digital printing machines for faster turn arounds and have the capability to do smaller runs too.

Could you tell us about your tie-ups?

We have built relationships with textile-mills inIndia,China,Taiwanamong other countries for our fabric needs over 15 years. This is one of our core strengths.

Within one year, we have managed to secure regular contracts and business with MNCs like PWC, Philips, GE, Ericsson and Nestle. Within this same time frame, we have secured accounts with many prestigious running, yoga, cycling and football clubs in Gurgaon and the NCR region. 

Tell us a bit about the market size you are trying to capture. 

In the first phase, we only focused on Gurgaon and the Delhi NCR region. Just Gurgaon has over 1000 corporate houses comprising of 1 million corporate employees whileDelhihas over 5000 corporates. The market is very huge and we are keen on tapping it optimally. We have been into this business for close to 20 years and sell brands like Gap, Macy’s, etc.

How has the response been so far?

We have had an amazing response till now. We have served over 500 satisfied customers within one year of operations from MNCs, SMEs, sports clubs, restaurants, salons and schools/colleges.Define your revenue model.

Our mark-ups range from 15-20 to 100 per cent depending on the category we operate in. We have lower margins for promotional tees and higher mark-ups for the products sold through our retail and online business.

How many unique users visit T10sports every day?

Roughly, we have around 100 hits on our website. Besides this, we have a database of over 500 customers now whom we have dealt with in the past one year. Also, our corporate customers place repeated orders with us.

How big is your team? Are you looking at hiring?

We started in the year 2010 and today we have close to 50 employees including people hired to work in our manufacturing facility. We are focusing on expanding our sales, marketing and customer care team right now.

Are you looking at starting your own chain of stores?

Our first store in City Centre Mall, Gurgaon, is scheduled to open next week. However, our focus will be on institutional and e-commerce sales in the first phase. This helps in quick conversions and ensures a good cash flow.

How much capital was required to startup?

We started with around 50 lakhs for working capital and machinery. Now, in the second round, we have invested in acquiring the latest digital printing technology.

How do you plan to deal with competition from other similar players in the market? 

We always differentiate our products and services in terms of quality. We use innovative fabrics, trimmings, styling and design, printing techniques, which give our products an edge. We offer world-class services to our customers. 

Do you plan to raise more funds?

We were self-funded while starting up. We are not looking at raising funds immediately and instead, we are trying to grow organically in the first phase and be cash positive and profitable too. We will require funding to expand in future.

Go to www.t10sports.com for further details!

If you are an e-commerce enthusiast, then do register now to attend e-Sparks 2011 –India’s premier e-commerce startup showcase, on 17th Dec at IIM Bangalore.

If you are an Indian e-commerce startup, then please do register now to be at e-Sparks 2011