Global sports brand adidas is establishing its global capacity centre (GCC) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Economic Times (ET) has reported.

Located in Chennai, the GCC will be the German athletic footwear and apparel giant’s first such centre in Asia outside China. 

The strategic move is set to focus on critical business processes and is indicative of the trend of multinationals investing in India to leverage the country's vast software expertise. 

Adidas will develop its Global Business Services (GBS) hub under the direction of Akhil Kapoor, vice-president of GBS global procurement and head of GBS India. 

A source was quoted by ET as saying: "Under his leadership, the hub will play a crucial role in key processes such as source-to-pay, financial planning and analysis, invoice-to-cash and record-to-report."  

Adidas plans substantial growth for its Chennai centre and aims to recruit high-quality resources in the five years up to 2028.  

The source further added: "The Chennai hub has been designated as the global hub, seamlessly integrating with Adidas' existing hubs in Porto (Portugal), Dalian (China), Bogota (Columbia) and North America to cater to the company's global operations."  

Adidas already has a corporate office in Gurgaon, India.  

The development announcement is seen as a significant boost for Tamil Nadu's growing GCC ecosystem, with Adidas joining other global companies that have recently established their first Indian centres in the state. 

ANSR founder Lalit Ahuja was quoted by the publication as saying: "Marquee brands in the sports brands space setting up GCCs is a significant development.  

"Brands like NIKE and Lululemon, which operate in the same sector, already have their GCCs in India, and typically, the size of such GCCs varies from employing one hundred to two thousand people."