‘Factories should be set up near ports,’ says Vivek Kohli, Stag International owner, on sports manufacturing in India

Made in India > Make in India.

This was essentially the key takeaway from the panel titled, ‘Made in India – The Manufacturing Muscle’, at the PlayCom 2025: Business of Sports Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on Friday. 

The session saw Vivek Kohli (Owner, Stag International) and Dr. Kanishka Pandey (Faculty and Head- Centre for Sports Research, IMT Ghaziabad) speak about the importance of enhancing the sporting culture of the country and aiming to raise the demand and supply of quality Indian sporting goods not just in the country but across the world in a chat moderated by Mayank Goel (Partner, Trade, Customs & GST, KPMG India).

The session started with a moving recap of Stag’s origin story and how Vivek was initially discouraged from pursuing this business. “They said ‘Selling your brand is impossible.’ But, now you can find Stag in 210 countries!”

According to Vivek, passion is the key driver. “We achieved all of this because of passion. And also, quality was always our domain. This is why we were able to build a brand that stands for ‘Sports for All’”

Kanishka added to Vivek’s point by saying that creating a solid sporting culture is equally important. “Culture is everything. It can drive both consumption and demand. An increase in sports culture leads to greater literacy, more participants, stronger competition… and in turn, a deeper talent pool. Once we have a large base, with the right guidelines, we can create more sportspersons.”

Kanishka also spoke about how the enhancement of sporting culture is connected to the rise in sports consumption as well. “More people participating means more demand, and more demand means more manufacturing. That is why we need to actively promote sports culture.”

But which is the best place to manufacture sports equipment? Vivek says to look towards the seas.

“Factories should be set up near the ports. We should look at regions like Gujarat, Maharashtra or Chennai. Manufacturing near the port also helps boost exports,” he said, adding that it also reduces logistical costs drastically.

Vivek also advocated for ‘Made in India’ over ‘Make in India’. “I would rather see Indian companies manufacture overseas than foreign companies manufacture in our country,” he said.

However, in the end, none of these optics will matter if children don’t take up sport. Vivek says this is where schools come in. “They need to employ more sports teachers specialised in individual sports. It can be part of extra-curricular programmes. This will also create new sporting teaching jobs.”

Vivek concurs strongly and offers a quirky solution inspired by their Sports Literacy Mission, launched in 2017: “Instead of teaching the A for apple and B for ball, we should teach them A for athletics, B for basketball.” Creating sporting awareness in this way can make a difference, he believes.

“Sport is not just about organising competitions and distributing medals. It is way of life,” he concludes.

Published on Sep 12, 2025