How Hrithik Roshan’s HRX became a success when most celebrity brands failed to make a mark

India is a celebrity-obsessed nation, but few celebrity-led product brands have been successful. The reason - the celebrity’s larger than life persona overpowers the brand. The brand is all about the celebrity and often misses out on crucial elements such as understanding consumer needs, the right pricing strategy and even distribution. 

When actor Hrithik Roshan launched his athleisure brand, HRX, way back in 2012, not only was there no other celebrity-led product brand around at time, HRX chose to create an altogether new category, athleisure, and that too for the masses. “Until then people wore the same t-shirt to the gym which they wore for an evening outing,” remembers Afsar Zaidi, founder and CEO, Exceed Entertainment, the talent company which manages the actor, but also co-founded HRX.

Hrithik resonated with his audience for being a fitness enthusiast and was also considered an extremely stylish individual. HRX tried to replicate Hrithik’s individual brand persona through its athleisure positioning. As Hrithik’s talent management company, Exceed’s goal was to have multiple revenue models around the actor. Though launching a brand seemed a great idea, it was also important to keep in mind that monetisation was not the sole purpose, says Zaidi. “If it's all about money, then building a brand is not the way to go, one can go the endorsement route. You create a brand to create value, not to make money. Because if you create a brand to create value, you will build a long-term, long-lasting business.”

Today, HRX’s revenue is in excess of Rs 1,500 crore and has a presence in apparels as well as footwear, fitness products, luggage and even fragrances. While Exceed and Hrithik own the brand, take care of the brand narrative and marketing, factors such distribution, supply chain and pricing are managed by Flipkart, Myntra and a host of other partners. “A celebrity brand can only be successful if the specialists stick to their jobs. If I am doing a jewellery brand, I need to listen to the jeweller. I need to listen to the distributor. I need to listen to people who are specialists in the job to construct the brand,” explains Zaidi.

“Mukesh Bansal, the founder of Myntra. gave us his team. When we launched in 2012 as an online brand, people laughed at us, but we chose to listen to our partners (Myntra, Flipkart, Cult Fit, Friedo etc) as to how this business should be done. It worked for us.” Though HRX did open a standalone store a few years ago, it took a call to continue with the strategy of being a digital-only brand.

Looking Beyond Hrithik

Prior to the launch of HRX, Exceed hired market research agency, IMRB, to do a deep dive on the potential of the brand. “We had also done a project with MICA. It was clear that as we progress, we could use the attributes of Hrithik in HRX but not use his image. So, HRX became a physical manifestation of his characteristics,” Zaidi explains.

“We have singed brand ambassadors for the brand. We have signed Tiger Shroff for HRX. Currently, our female brand ambassador is Tripti Dimri for our women's athleisure segment. As we progress, we will sign more people for our various verticals of the brand.”

Building Mass Appeal

Most celebrity-brands across the globe target premium audiences. HRX has chosen to be mass. While an average HRX t-shirt costs Ra 299, it also has products such as a shoe sock priced at Rs 499. It has recently entered the deodorant space with a Rs 999 product. “Being a mass brand was sacrosanct. That was very clear. The idea was to build a brand that touches the maximum people,” says Zaidi.

HRX tagline says ‘Keep Going’ which says Zaidi, resonates with Hrithik’s brand persona. “Hrithik looks at HRX as a service.  He had faced lot of challenges before he went on to become who he is, the reigning superstar of our country. For Hrithik, it really came from a very deep thought to inspire people to push the extreme and keep going. There was a very noble thought behind HRX and that's a very strong reason why we are successful.”

The tenets of a celebrity-led brand are not too different from building any successful brand or even a film. Just as having a superstar actor in a movie will not guarantee success unless the story is good, a celebrity brand will not work unless the product is of great quality, it is innovative and is priced well.