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Lotto bullish on Bangladesh

Italian sportswear brand to double stores to 300 by 2020

Refayet Ullah Mirdha
Lotto, the Italian sportswear brand, plans to double its stores in Bangladesh to 300 within the next two years, spurred by sizeable youth population and rising disposable income.
"This is the market with the most potential for us," Andrea Tomat, president of Lotto Sport Italia, told The Daily Star in an interview yesterday.
He, however, did not disclose the annual sales turnover generated by the 150 Lotto stores in Bangladesh.
Tomat called in to Dhaka on the occasion of the launch of Lotto's new shoe brand AMF (Adapto Memory Foam) in Dhaka.
Sportswear is no longer restricted to
athletic purposes, he said.
"It has become an all year round fashion item for the young generation worldwide - that's why Bangladesh is a very promising market for us."
Initially, the company had targeted a mature demographic in Bangladesh. "But the Bangladesh market is driven by the young generation."
Bangladesh's dynamic and growing economy and high-quality garment manufacturers are also plus points for the country, he said.
Lotto sources apparel from Bangladesh not only for the local market but also for the international ones. But the shoes sold in the local market are brought in from abroad, he said.
"In future we will also source shoe items from Bangladesh as the local shoemakers are also gearing up to produce high-quality items."
The company does not have any factory of its own. It mainly provides designs and places bulk orders for all markets.
In Bangladesh, 15 local garment factories supply apparel items to Lotto. Tomat though declined to name the factories.
He also did not give a monetary value of the work orders his company places in Bangladesh.
“We want to build a relationship that will be very strong, long-lasting and based on mutual trust."
Lotto's local partner is Express Leather Products Limited.
With humble beginnings in Italy 45 years ago, Lotto now is one of the major sports brands in the world. It has presence in 110 countries and sponsors football teams and tennis players.
“Lotto is a $300 million company," Tomat said, adding that the company has been growing at more than 20 percent year-on-year over the last five years.
About 60 percent of the Italian sportswear manufacturer's revenue comes from Europe and 40 percent from the rest of the world, 30 percent of which is attributed to the Asian countries.
Kazi Jamil Islam, managing director of Lotto Bangladesh, also spoke at the launch of AMF shoes.