Shiv-Naresh: The ₹235 Crore Sportswear Brand Born At Home

A shortage of quality sportswear in the 1970s gave former national-level athlete RK Singh an idea that would eventually grow into Shiv-Naresh, an Indian sportswear company with audited revenue of ₹235 crore in FY2025.

The problem was personal. As an athlete, Singh struggled to find a good pair of shorts for training and competition. In a 2017 interview reported by Mumbai Mirror, he recalled being told to travel to Patiala to get the pair he wanted. He made the journey by bus, but the experience left him thinking about a bigger problem: why was finding suitable sportswear so difficult?

That experience became the starting point for Shiv-Naresh, a homegrown brand that began in a West Delhi home and gradually built a presence across India’s sportswear market.

Today, the company has a network of more than 7,000 retailers, over 750 employees and partnerships with national sports federations and professional teams. Its growth also reflects a business opportunity that global sportswear giants have not always prioritised: supplying affordable kits to India’s schools, colleges, sports academies and sporting institutions.

From a West Delhi Home to a Sportswear Factory

Singh started Shiv-Naresh with his wife, Kusum, after gaining experience in basic tailoring and working with Delhi Cloth Mills. The couple began operations from their home in West Delhi, building the business around the needs of athletes who struggled to find suitable sportswear.

Rather than starting with a large manufacturing facility or an extensive retail network, Singh spent the early years developing the business from home. He continued operating this way for seven years before opening the company’s first factory-cum-shop in 1987, creating a direct channel to customers who needed sports kits.

The business expanded further as demand grew. In 1991, Singh established a factory in Samaypur Badli on the outskirts of New Delhi.

The early years were built around a straightforward proposition: athletes needed practical, accessible sportswear, and the company aimed to supply it. What began as a response to a problem Singh had experienced himself gradually developed into a manufacturing and distribution business.

Shiv-Naresh Crosses ₹235 Crore in Revenue

Shiv-Naresh’s expansion over the decades has taken it well beyond its original home-based operations.

By 2017, the company had expanded to five factories, according to earlier media reports. Its current distribution network is considerably broader, with more than 7,000 retailers across India and a workforce of over 750 employees, according to information published on the company’s website.

The brand has also established a presence on major e-commerce platforms, including Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra, giving customers additional ways to access its products.

The company’s financial performance offers another measure of its scale. A CRISIL rating rationale puts Shiv-Naresh’s audited revenue at ₹235 crore for the financial year 2025. The same assessment estimated revenue of ₹260 crore to ₹280 crore for FY2026.

The FY2026 figure was an estimate, rather than an audited result, and should be distinguished from the reported FY2025 revenue.

For a business that began with a former athlete’s difficulty in finding suitable shorts, the numbers illustrate how a relatively focused market need can become the foundation for a sizeable enterprise.

From Individual Athletes to National Sports Federations

Shiv-Naresh’s customer base has expanded beyond individual athletes to include organisations responsible for training and competing at different levels of Indian sport.

The company lists partnerships with several national sports bodies, including Hockey India, the Boxing Federation of India and weightlifting organisations. It has also associated itself with professional teams such as Punjab FC, SG Pipers and Tamil Thalaivas.

These partnerships have given the brand a presence across different sporting disciplines, extending its reach beyond the individual retail customer.

The institutional market has been an important part of the company’s business approach. Schools, colleges, academies and state-level sports associations require sportswear for training, competitions and organised sporting activities. Serving these customers offers a different route to growth from competing primarily for individual consumers seeking premium athletic apparel.

For Shiv-Naresh, the focus on these customers has helped it build a position in a market where affordability and the ability to serve organisations at scale matter.

Why Shiv-Naresh Launched Trenz

The company has also sought to reach customers beyond its traditional sportswear market.

In the early 2020s, Shiv-Naresh introduced Trenz, a sub-brand aimed largely at younger consumers. Its product positioning combines performance-oriented clothing with styles intended for casual wear.

The move allows the company to address a broader range of clothing needs while retaining its connection to sports and physical activity.

Trenz represents a different direction from the company’s original focus on supplying kits to athletes and institutions. It also provides a route to reach consumers who want sports-inspired clothing for everyday use, rather than exclusively for training or competition.

The Business Behind India’s Everyday Sporting Needs

Shiv-Naresh’s journey offers a different perspective on how a sportswear brand can grow. Instead of building its identity primarily around global celebrity endorsements or premium fashion, the company developed its business by addressing the practical needs of India’s sporting community.

Its emphasis on accessible sportswear and institutional customers has helped it establish a nationwide retail network and partnerships across multiple sports. The expansion of participation in athletics, wrestling and other disciplines has also created opportunities for businesses that supply the equipment and clothing required for organised sport.

The company’s trajectory highlights the importance of a market that can receive less attention than premium consumer sportswear: the everyday demand generated by schools, colleges, academies and sporting associations.

Singh’s original problem was simple. He needed a good pair of shorts and had to travel to another city to find one. The business he built with Kusum turned that personal frustration into a company with hundreds of crores in annual revenue.

Shiv-Naresh’s story is ultimately about recognising an unmet need and building a business around it, one sports kit at a time.

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