Sports shops rake in the moolah

Sports shops in the twin-cities are raking in the moolah by cashing on the growing craze for cricket. According to estimates, the sales touch Rs 50 crore in summer months. Apart from regular cricketers (Officially there are 217 cricket teams registered with the Hyderabad Cricket Association) thousands of school going kids join summer camps in different sports who buy equipment.

There is huge change in people the way they view sports, says Prem Kumar of Prem Sports who has been in the business of supplying sports goods for the last 45 years. He says, “When my forefathers came from Sialkot and set up business, sports was taken up as a pastime but today many kids, urged by parents are taking sports seriously and do not go back spending any amount.”

While Prem Sports has been catering to the lower and middle classes, big time players such as Sachdev Sports, Indiana Sports and Signal Sports to name a few supply to GHMC, Army and Sports Schools. Kamlesh Parekh of Parekh Sports says, “There are cricket bats for as low as Rs 1500 to Rs 50,000. With corporate tournaments being conducted all round the year, the demand is growing.”

There is a niche clientele for football jerseys and shoes in some pockets of Hyderabad such as Alwal, Bolarum and Yapral and sports shops in these areas get good business, especially in summer. With more than 100 coaching centres in the twin-cities and GHMC summer camps, sports shops are raking in the moolah.