Brandman Retail is a gateway that brings premium global sneaker and athleisure brands into India, curating them for a young, aspirational consumer rather than competing on price. The company was founded in 2021 by Arun Malhotra, a veteran of India’s luxury retail scene, and took its first step by operating six New Balance stores before a pivotal multi-brand pivot in 2024. Its entire approach rests on a single recurring idea: deep, trust-based relationships with global brand principals act as a moat, making Brandman the partner of choice for international names navigating India’s complex retail market. # Business segments A single engine with three mutually reinforcing channels - a premium brand distribution and retail network that feeds a growing owned multi-brand platform, all stitched together by an omnichannel backbone that moves one pool of inventory across every sales touchpoint. ## 1. Premium brand distribution and retail: the curated gateway for global names **Brandman is the local operating partner for ten international sneaker and athleisure brands, running their stores, managing their online presence, and in one case even designing and manufacturing the product - so a brand like ANTA can enter India without building anything itself.** - **Exclusive operator for global icons** - the company runs 14 New Balance Exclusive Brand Outlets, which is half of every New Balance store in India, making it the brand’s most important retail partner in the country. - **A licence to make, not just sell** - for Rockport, Brandman holds a licence to design, manufacture, and distribute the shoes, which gives it control over the entire value chain and a different, likely higher, margin structure than a pure distribution deal. - **The portfolio spans the price ladder** - the ten brands cover a spectrum from mid-premium Puma (₹3,000-₹10,000) to ultra-luxury On Running (₹15,000-₹30,000), so the company can place the right brand in the right mall or online platform for the catchment. - **New brands arrive through this engine** - in FY26, Brandman onboarded the Chinese sportswear giant ANTA and the American sports equipment icon Wilson through a non-exclusive distributor agreement with ANTA Group, marking both brands’ India debut and extending the company’s reach beyond footwear into hardgoods like tennis rackets. - **Stores go where the customer is** - the 22-outlet network is concentrated in premium malls and high-footfall urban centres, with a structured rollout model now targeting airport corridors, including already-operational stores at Mumbai Navi Airport and Guwahati Airport. ## 2. Sneakrz: the company’s own multi-brand sneaker destination **Sneakrz is a chain of company-owned stores and a dedicated website that sells a curated mix of global brands under its own roof - it is a retail brand Brandman owns, not one it manages for someone else.** - **A platform, not just a shop** - launched as a multi-brand format in 2024, Sneakrz carries Adidas, Puma, Asics, Saucony, and New Balance together in one place, positioning itself as a youth-focused sneaker and street-culture destination. - **Scaling fast from a small base** - seven of the eight Sneakrz outlets were added in FY26 alone, and the company plans to evolve the format from a store chain into a full retail brand with its own identity. - **A direct digital line to the customer** - the format has its own D2C website, sneakrz.in, which launched in FY26 and gives Brandman a direct relationship with the end consumer, bypassing marketplace commissions. - **Built for India beyond the metros** - management has called out tier-2 and tier-3 cities as a specific expansion focus for Sneakrz, using it to reach aspirational buyers who do not have access to premium brand-exclusive stores. ## 3. Omnichannel commerce and B2B: one pool of inventory, every route to market **The company’s inventory moves across retail stores, e-commerce marketplaces, its own websites, and bulk B2B channels through a single, ERP-linked system - so a shoe sitting in a store can also fulfil an online order.** - **One inventory, all channels** - the operating model is built on real-time inventory visibility across the entire network, with software from providers like Vinculum synchronising store stock with online orders to maximise how quickly product sells through. - **Present on every major marketplace** - Brandman sells on Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Tata CLiQ Luxury, Nykaa Fashion, Nykaa Man, and AJIO, and in June 2026 added a strategic partnership to manage Skechers’ presence across these same platforms as an authorised re-seller. - **B2B is the quiet anchor** - bulk supply to large retailers and online channel partners, plus export and liquidation sales to outlets like TJ Maxx in the GCC, still contributed over 60% of revenue in FY26, though management is deliberately shifting the mix toward retail and D2C over the next two fiscal years. - **Liquidation keeps inventory fresh** - the company uses B2B channels to clear Season-1 and Season-2 stock through discount partners, which protects the full-price image of the retail stores and marketplaces. # Group structure and partners **Brandman Retail is a single, publicly listed entity with no subsidiaries, and its competitive edge is a web of hard-won relationships with ten global brand principals - each agreement structured differently, from pure distribution to a full design-and-manufacture licence.** - **A standalone company with a concentrated leadership** - incorporated in 2021 and listed on NSE Emerge in February 2026, the company is run by founder Arun Malhotra alongside a management team that includes a former Tata CLiQ founding member as CEO and a former Bain and BCG consultant leading brand partnerships. - **Agreements are tailored, not templated** - the Rockport deal is a licence to design, manufacture, and distribute; the ANTA and Wilson arrangement is a non-exclusive distributor agreement with ANTA Group; and the Skechers partnership is an authorised re-seller appointment for online marketplaces only, each carrying different rights and restrictions. - **Brand owners keep tight control** - under the distributor agreement with AVID SPORTS SINGAPORE, Brandman cannot open a retail store or wholesale any product without explicit consent from the brand owner, and every store must meet strict brand protocol, showing how the company’s role is that of a trusted steward, not an independent retailer.