The Hindu Business Line : SreeLeathers sets up joint venture for East Europe foray

Kolkata May 3 SreeLeathers Footwear & Accessories has set up a 50:50 trading joint venture in Athens, Greece, with Costa Ginnes, a local footwear distributor, for a major foray into the East European markets.

Talking to Business Line here on the group's expansion plans, Mr S.B. Dey, Managing Director of SreeLeathers, said along with Mica Lederwarn of Germany, SreeLeathers has had a fruitful relationship with the Greek outfit, as European distributor of the Indian company's footwear, and the joint venture was a natural culmination of such long standing business ties.

Not willing to divulge the financials at this stage, Mr Dey said the joint venture partner has already located a large warehouse in Athens, and exports of footwear in full swing from India were expected to begin soon.

He said detailed market surveys have been carried out, and the plan was to seek a large presence in the Balkans region of Europe.

"We are seeking to establish closer ties with all our business partners abroad, and this joint venture is the first step in that direction." He said the company was looking to explore West Asian and Far East markets too.

Brand name

Asked if a different brand name was likely to be adopted for the European foray, Mr Dey said "it will always be SreeLeathers, as this has now become our signature brand, standing for "world quality at right price".

Unveiling his vision plan for the company, which makes its signature presence in city felt especially during festival times, Mr Dey clarified that the Group's plan was to emerge as "the best, and no necessarily the biggest".

Two of the new large format SreeLeathers stores coming up in city are at Gariahat (18,000 sq ft) and College Street (also 18,000 sq ft). He said the Gariahat store was expected to become operational by October this year.

Set up in 1953 by Suresh Chandra Dey, a renowned freedom fighter of his time, the Group entered the export market in 93-94. The first SreeLeathers shop set up at Jamshedpur in 1953 still stands today, said Mr Dey. The Group now has 30 shops, mostly franchisee outlets, in West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, Assam and Tripura.

He said SreeLeathers also boasts the country's largest footwear outlet at Connaught Place in New Delhi, a 20,000 sq ft showroom located in three floors.

Citing the Nike example, Mr Dey said it was possible to create a worthy global brand without any manufacturing activity, as long as the quality is maintained at all stages. SreeLeathers follows a business model based on 100 per cent outsourcing. Asked if the company, whose sales have grown by a steady 15 per cent year on year, had any manufacturing plans in the near future, he replied in the negative.