For over 45 years, COSCO (India) Ltd has been the name on the sports equipment and fitness gear that Indians actually use - from school playgrounds to home gyms - making it one of the country's most organised players in a largely unorganised industry. The company was built by the Jain family, whose leadership has roughly 60 and 55 years of experience in the trade respectively, and it remains a promoter-driven, family-run public company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Its recurring approach is a dual-engine model: it manufactures the core sports balls itself at its own plant while sourcing everything else - treadmills, boxing gear, carrom boards - from a network of international and domestic suppliers, all sold under the single "COSCO" brand through a nationwide dealer network. # Business segments Three engines that work as one brand - domestic manufacturing of sports balls, a larger trading operation that sources fitness equipment and other goods from around the world, and a 730-dealer distribution network that delivers both to households, schools and gyms across India. ## 1. Traded Goods: the fitness supermarket sourced from the world **The company buys treadmills, exercise bikes, boxing equipment and hundreds of other items from international and domestic manufacturers, then sells them under the COSCO name - this is the larger half of the business.** - **Sourced, not made** - the company has tie-ups and arrangements with reputed international and domestic suppliers, sourcing products at competitive prices rather than building factories for every category. - **A constantly refreshed catalogue** - new products are developed and sourced on a regular basis, so the range keeps expanding to match what gyms and households want next. - **Quality without the factory** - even though these goods are bought in, they still conform to International Standards, which lets the company put its brand on them with confidence. - **Inventory discipline by the numbers** - items that move slowly (less than 20% turnover) are valued at 40% of cost, and goods that do not move at all are written down to 5% of cost, so ageing stock does not quietly build up on the books. ## 2. Own Manufactured Products: the ball-making heart of the company **At its Gurugram plant, COSCO makes the inflatable balls and tennis balls that carry its brand - the one category it controls from raw material to finished product.** - **Balls are the core** - the company manufactures mainly sports balls, including inflatable sports balls and tennis balls, and this is its only in-house production segment. - **An in-house lab, not an assembly line** - the company runs its own Research & Development unit that continuously re-engineers formulas, develops safer materials, creates premium-range products, and benchmarks against competitors in both national and international markets. - **Built to international standards without imported technology** - the products conform to International Standards, yet no technology has been imported in the three years through FY22, meaning the know-how is homegrown. - **Part of a century-old cluster** - the broader Indian sports goods industry is nearly a hundred years old, labour-intensive, and dominated by small and tiny units, with the Jalandhar and Meerut clusters together producing about 75-80% of the country's total output. ## 3. The COSCO brand and distribution network: one name, 730 shopfronts **Every product - whether made in Gurugram or sourced overseas - reaches the customer through a single brand and a network of roughly 730 authorised dealers spread across India.** - **One brand for everything** - all products are marketed under the "COSCO" name, which the company describes as a leading brand in the domestic sports and fitness segment. - **730 dealers and counting** - the distribution network consists of branches, distributors, and approximately 730 authorised dealers as of FY25, a footprint that has stayed around 730-800 over several years. - **Households, schools and gyms** - customers range from individuals and households buying for personal fitness to institutional buyers such as educational institutions, schools, gyms and sporting event organisers, with many multinational companies also running in-house gyms or sponsoring staff sports activities. - **An online front door too** - the company set up an online portal for marketing its products during FY20, adding a direct digital channel alongside its physical dealer network. - **Fighting fakes** - grey market operators produce duplicate COSCO products, so the company regularly changes packaging and designs to stay ahead of counterfeiters. # Exports **A small but wide-reaching international channel - COSCO ships to over 200 countries, though exports remain a very little share of overall revenue.** - **Presence in over 200 countries** - key markets include the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Germany, the UAE, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Sweden and Canada. - **A broad basket of goods** - exported items include inflatable balls and accessories, nets, general exercise equipment, boxing equipment, toys and games, protective equipment, cricket equipment, sportswear, carrom boards and hammocks. - **Stagnancy is the headwind** - the company has noted stagnancy in exports as a challenge, even as the broader Indian sports goods industry exports to over 150 global markets and supplies inflatable balls to international brands like Mitre, Umbro and Wilson. # Group structure and partners **A family-run public company with a single brand, a lost overseas subsidiary, and a shrinking workforce of 362 permanent employees.** - The company is promoter-controlled, with six members of the Jain family holding key management positions including Managing Director & CEO, Managing Director, Whole-Time Director & CFO, and multiple Whole-Time Director roles. - Its wholly-owned Sri Lankan subsidiary, Cosco Polymer Lanka (Private) Limited, was taken over by the Government of Sri Lanka under a revival act and has been ordered to be wound up; a compensation tribunal has allowed roughly LKR 480 lakhs, but the management does not expect any net realizable value from the investment. - The company holds directorships and investments in other private companies - Cosco International Private Limited, DDN Polymers Pvt. Ltd., Navendu Investment Company Private Limited, and Radhaphool Fin-Investments Pvt. Ltd. - and has a related party transaction with Cosco Polymer Industries (P) Ltd.. - The permanent workforce stood at 362 as of March 2025, down from about 457 the year before and roughly 495 in FY22.