NBA launches online store in India, powered by Jabong.com

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Jabong announced the launch of the first official NBA online store in India, NBAStore.in.  The announcement was made at a press conference in Mumbai attended by Bollywood star and NBA fan Abhishek Bachchan.

Through this partnership, the widest assortment of NBA merchandise ever will be available in India including the first-ever NBA products for women in the country.

NBAStore.in will be an NBA-branded destination within Jabong.com – one of the leading sports and fashion destinations in India -- which has 30 million unique visitors per month and delivers to more than 400 cities, towns and villages. The collection of approximately 200 NBA products will include shorts, jerseys and t-shirts for men and women and will be priced between Rs 1400 – 14000.  

This announcement comes amidst rapid growth of the NBA’s fanbase in India.  This season, a record 14 games per week are televised on SONY SIX, up from six last season, viewership has grown by triple digits, and attendance at grassroots basketball events has doubled. 

“Sports are a major draw amongst today’s youth in India and we have seen a spike in demand for branded sportswear on Jabong,” said Praveen Sinha, Co-founder & Managing Director, Jabong.com. “We are extremely happy to partner with one of the biggest and greatest brands in sports, and are confident that the NBA will be able to power the game of basketball to the same levels of popularity seen in other parts of the world.”

“Passion for basketball and the NBA is growing rapidly in India, and the increasing demand for NBA merchandise makes this the perfect time to launch a dedicated e-commerce destination,” said Managing Director, NBA India, Yannick Colaco.  “Digital is an enormous growth area for us, and NBAStore.in will allow us to reach more fans and greatly extend beyond the major markets.” 

NBAStore.in will offer many exclusive products including: oncourt product and fan gear from adidas, women’s and men’s fan gear from Levelwear,  NBA socks from New Horizon, official NBA basketballs from Spalding and basketball footwear from adidas, Reebok, Nike and Brand Jordan.   Additional exclusive products will be added each season.

Jabong and the NBA will promote the site extensively across TV, digital and social media.  Products will be integrated into NBA television programs airing in India such as NBA Inside Stuff; NBA players and legends will participate in Google Hangouts; and an NBAStore.in section will be created within NBA Jam, the league’s college-based basketball and entertainment touring property which will travel to 16 cities later this year.

Fans that purchase merchandise will have a chance to win authentic autographed NBA jerseys as well as tickets to NBA regular season games, NBA All-Star and The Finals.

This marks the NBA’s fifth international online store since 2012 and sales for these destinations are up more than 100 percent this year. The online stores include NBATienda in Mexico, LojaNBA.com in Brazil, NBAstore.eu in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and NBA.tmall.com in China.  Overall, more than 30 percent of NBA merchandise revenue is generated internationally.

In India, the NBA has hosted more than 500 events in 10 cities since 2008, opened its first office in Mumbai in 2011 and nearly 30 NBA players and legends have conducted basketball events in India.