New Delhi: India might be getting more fitness-conscious, given its young population, but it might not be enough for US sportswear maker Nike to persuade more people to buy its products here.To cut losses , the world’s largest sportswear maker, known for its premium shoes and apparel bearing the iconic Swoosh, has shut around 35% of its stores in the country. It is left with around 200 stores at present, said people familiar with the development.In 2014-15, Nike’s accumulated losses were around Rs 541 crore, according to data filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). Its sales and loss in 2014-15 were around Rs 803 crore and Rs 101 crore respectively. In comparison, rival Adidas’ accumulated losses were around Rs 68 crore and Reebok’s Rs 2,198 crore for the same period. German sportswear maker Puma, which follows a calendar year, showed accumulated profits of around Rs 47 crore for the year-ended December 2015.A Nike India spokesperson did not reply to an emailed questionnaire from TOI.“As part of its strategy, Nike is reducing its number of partners in the country and will be working with just three or four to run its operations here,” said a senior industry executive. “Earlier, it had around 20 partners and it has halved the number. Further consolidation will take place.”Nike’s largest partner in the country is SSIPL (formerly Moja Shoes), which runs 80% of its stores, followed by Ravi Jaipuria’s RJ Corp. Many Nike stores that have been closed recently have been converted into multi-brand stores by its partners and are showing encouraging results.It has also been learnt that Nike is rethinking its strategy of sponsoring bats of top Indian cricketers. Although Nike spends around Rs 60 crore per year to sponsor the Indian cricket team’s kit, sponsoring bats of cricketers such as Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Parthiv Patel, among many others, is an added cost. Companies spend anywhere between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 8 crore to sponsor a player’s bat. For instance, Indian cricketer Virat Kohli’s bat, as reported by TOI earlier, carries a price tag of around Rs 8 crore.“Wrong marketing investments leading to poor return on investments has been a problem for Nike in India,” said senior industry executives. “The company’s retail expansion strategy has also not worked according to plan, leading to closure of many stores.”