‘Full circle to the retailer we really respect’

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This article was published 24/03/2025 (223 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg clothing company and Toronto-based retailer are taking their vendor partnership to the next level.

MPG (Mondetta Performance Gear), the athleisure brand started by Mondetta Clothing Inc. in the early 2000s, has announced the launch of store-in-stores at five Sporting Life locations (four in the Greater Toronto Area and one in Calgary).

Founded in 1979, Sporting Life has 14 stores (in B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec) that sell athletic goods and apparel. If things go well with the first five locations, it’s possible MPG will open store-in-stores at additional Sporting Life outlets.

The store-in-stores range from 100 to 400 square feet and are designed to be warm, inviting and minimal, the companies said.

Mondetta CEO Ash Modha is excited because when he, his brother Prashant Modha and friend Raj Bahl started their clothing company four decades ago, they were inspired by Sporting Life.

“That was the store we really looked up to as a company,” Modha said.

Sporting Life’s relationship with Mondetta dates to the early 1990s, when the retailer started carrying the company’s signature international flag sweatshirts. The retailer has been selling MPG products for more than a decade.

“It’s going full circle to the retailer we really respect,” Modha said. “When you get a retailer that respects a brand and wants to tell that brand’s story, that’s when you really get an opportunity for companies like us.”

Modha, his brother and friend started Mondetta, which means “small world,” in 1986 with the ambitious goal to harmonize the globe.

Today, the company includes four brands: Mondetta offers clothing for the whole family; Mondetta Originals offers the iconic sweatshirts that made the company famous; Modern Ambition is a luxury brand; and MPG offers activewear.

As a proudly Canadian company, Sporting Life is excited to strengthen its collaboration with MPG, according to Kara Anastasiadis, vice-president of purchasing.

“At Sporting Life, we are passionate about curating premium apparel that speaks to performance and style,” she said in a release. “Our partnership with MPG aligns perfectly with our mission to offer the best in innovation, function and style.”

Both companies stand to gain from the collaboration, according to a marketing professor at the University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business — especially given the demand for Canadian-made goods in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

“This is a very smart idea and smart move by MPG to partner with a Canadian retailer to do this,” Kiran Pedada said. “It will not only increase MPG’s brand visibility but also … leverage Sporting Life’s footfall to gain new customers.”

Pedada added in today’s retail landscape, partnerships like these are excellent ways for companies to share resources and strengthen their respective brands.

“These kinds of partnerships are going to be more and more important and we are going to see these things more and more,” he said.

The next 12 to 18 months are shaping up to be an exciting time for Mondetta, which will celebrate 40 years in business in 2026, Modha said.

The company is marking the anniversary with a multimillion-dollar rebrand it will roll out next spring. Mondetta hired Graj + Gustavsen, a creative agency in New York City, to build the rebrand.

With the Winter Olympics set to take place in February and the 2026 FIFA World Cup scheduled for next June and July, Modha believes there will be a big demand for Mondetta’s flag apparel.

“Next year is what we call ‘the unicorn,’” he said. “(It) is a huge opportunity for us.”

Three of MPG’s store-in-stores have already opened. A fourth will open at Mapleview Centre in Burlington, Ont., this week, with a fifth to follow at Market Mall in Calgary on April 2.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca