Campus says three categories can become sub-businesses in years

Campus Activewear Limited said on November 5, 2026 that apparel, ELAN and performance footwear could become standalone sub-businesses within the next couple of years, after selling more than 20,000 apparel units in five to six months and about 3,000 badminton pairs in the first 30 days online. Management expects ELAN sales to exceed 100,000 units in FY'27.

How is Campus building businesses beyond core footwear?

Campus is building apparel, ELAN and performance footwear through staged launches, selective channels and wider product ranges rather than broad inventory expansion. Management said apparel was launched first, primarily through retail, followed by ELAN and then performance footwear. It described the launches as part of a larger go-to-market plan rather than products added incidentally to the existing assortment.

The strategy is being pursued alongside growth in the core business. Campus reported Q2 FY'27 revenue of Rs 452 crore, up 16.9% year on year, as volume rose 10.2% to 6.3 million pairs and average selling price, or ASP, increased 6%. Management said newer growth vectors were delivering most of the growth and outperforming the core business, but did not disclose separate revenue for apparel, ELAN or performance footwear.

Apparel has produced the clearest early sales data. Campus sold more than 20,000 apparel units in the five to six months after launch, primarily through its retail ecosystem. Management said it was not building inventory aggressively and was instead using controlled launches, channel exclusivity and sell-through to develop the category.

What evidence supports Campus's sub-business ambition?

Campus cited early unit sales, product traction and partner feedback as the evidence for developing the three categories into sub-businesses. Apparel crossed 20,000 units in five to six months, ELAN is expected to exceed 100,000 units in FY'27, and badminton footwear sold about 3,000 units in its first 30 days online despite an initial range of only about six products.

The figures also show that the launches are at different stages. ELAN has a full-year FY'27 sales expectation of more than 100,000 units, while badminton was launched about 60 days before the call and recorded about 3,000 units during its first 30 days. Management called badminton a nascent category, but said the response to the limited online range supported further investment.

Campus said it was seeing good sell-through, no inventory issues and favourable feedback from channel partners in the new categories. Those are management assessments rather than separately reported operating metrics. The company also cited its ELAN campaign with Jim Sarbh and Amazon Prime, and said it planned similar brand communication for Kids.

Campus's existing category development provides context for the plan. Women and Kids grew 27% and 34%, respectively, in H1 FY'27, while their combined revenue mix rose to about 22.7% in Q2 FY'27 from 21.7% a year earlier. Management said Kids could follow the growth pattern established in Women, beginning with school shoes and extending to sports footwear and lower-age groups.

Which products and channels will Campus use next?

Campus plans to extend performance footwear from badminton into cricket, running and football, using different assortments across retail, marketplaces, its own website and quick-commerce platforms. Management said cricket footwear was scheduled for January, while running shoes were also due to launch soon after the November 2026 call.

ELAN will also receive a broader retail push. Management said ELAN 2.0 would arrive in stores in the month after the call, with a more differentiated product profile. It said all three newer categories, apparel, ELAN and performance, were being expanded rather than slowed, because the company believes each has a right to win in its intended market.

Campus's own website shares about 80% of its portfolio with marketplace operations, but it also carries retail-exclusive lines unavailable across the wider marketplace ecosystem. Management said the website's ASP is at least 8% to 10% above the marketplace business, supported by a greater mix of ELAN, premium exclusives and new categories.

Quick-commerce distribution remains more limited. Blinkit had mainly sold open footwear before adding about three shoes roughly 2.5 to three months before the call, while Zepto carried about eight to nine products, including four open-footwear and four closed-footwear items. This narrower assortment differs from the broader offer on marketplaces and the Campus website.

How will Campus balance category expansion and profitability?

Campus said it will expand new categories only where they contribute to the bottom line and maintained its FY'27 direction for a 17% earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, margin. Management said it would not operate a category merely to increase revenue and would judge opportunities by their profitability.

Material-cost inflation affected Q2 FY'27 margins. Gross margin was 51.4%, compared with 53.9% in the preceding quarter, while EBITDA increased 12.5% year on year to Rs 62 crore. The EBITDA margin was 13.5%, down 50 basis points from the year-earlier quarter, with one basis point equal to one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Profit after tax, or PAT, increased 21.3% year on year to Rs 24 crore in Q2 FY'27, ahead of revenue growth. PAT margin was 5.3%, an improvement of 20 basis points from the comparable quarter a year earlier. Management attributed its expected second-half margin recovery to pricing, product mix, operating leverage and cost discipline rather than lower raw-material costs.

Premiumisation is one mechanism behind that mix plan. Products priced at Rs 2,000 and above recorded volume growth of more than 50% year on year, lifting their volume contribution to about 13% from about 9%. Management said Rs 12 to Rs 13 of the approximately Rs 40 increase in ASP came from the premium segment, with the balance from product mix and maximum retail price increases.

Conclusion

Campus's standalone-business ambition rests on early, measurable category results: more than 20,000 apparel units sold in five to six months, an expectation of more than 100,000 ELAN units in FY'27, and about 3,000 badminton pairs sold through a six-product online launch in 30 days. The faster growth of Women and Kids, together with a rising premium-footwear share, gives the company additional category experience as it diversifies beyond its established footwear range.

The next disclosed milestones are ELAN 2.0 in retail in the month after the November 5 call, a cricket performance line scheduled for January and a planned Kids campaign. Management's 17% FY'27 EBITDA-margin direction, which it said does not depend on raw-material costs declining, will also be a key measure of whether controlled launches can scale alongside input-cost pressure.