Universal Sportsbiz, South Indian movie star Ramya partner for a line of ethnic, fusion apparel

BANGALORE: Fans of South Indian movie star Ramya will soon be able to wear clothes designed by the actor-politician. The 31-year-old has partnered with Universal Sportsbiz, which sells celebrity memorabilia, to launch her own line of ethnic and fusion apparel. “We have partnered with Ramya and will launch the collection, Spandana, soon,“ said 26-year-old Anjana Reddy, founder and CEO, Universal Sportsbiz.
Spandana will be launched exclusively on fashion portal Myntra. The former member of parliament from Karnataka's Mandya constituency was born Divya Spandana, but is known by her screen name Ramya.

This is the first time that threeyear-old Universal Sportsbiz is launching a collection with an Indian movie star.

Its other brand Collectabillia is focussed primarily on sports stars and holds exclusive mer chandise rights with cricket great Sachin Tendulkar and other Indian sports stars like Virat Kohli and Viswanathan Anand.

The company has previously partnered with Yash Raj Films for movie merchandising.

It also worked on merchandise related to Tamil superstar Rajinikanth's “Kochadaiiyaan“ along with mobile phone manufacturer Karbonn.

In March, Universal Sportsbiz, along with Bangalorebased digital accessories startup iAccy, signed up with Lionel Messi for the rights to de sign, manufacture and sell phone and laptop accessories with the Argentinian football star's images across 80 countries.

While the Collectabillia site retails and auctions memorabilia, Universal Sportsbiz typically sells merchandise on other sites. For instance, the Messi range of mobile covers is sold exclusively on Amazon.in. But if a Messi fan wants to buy an autographed boot, he will have to do so at the Collectabillia site. Accel Partners-backed Universal Sportsbiz will soon partner with more Indian movie stars for merchandising and for other retail collaborations.

In October they will launch a men's apparel brand in collaboration with an Indian sports star. Universal Sportsbiz's Reddy, a former badminton player, declined to reveal details of this collaboration.