British company Clarks, one of the largest global shoe manufacturers, is bullish on India market for its ‘premium’ shoes.
India is now the second largest consumer of footwear globally, surpassing the US by 200 million pairs in 2018. Of the top-10 footwear markets, India is the fastest growing at an annual growth rate of 7.6 per cent in the last three years, said N Mohan, CEO, Clarks India.
India’s footwear consumption per person increased from 1.7 in 2016 to 2 in 2018. Even one pair increase in per capita consumption of India will lead to 1.2 billion more pairs being consumed, he told newspersons on the sidelines of a press meet to announce the Leather Fashion Show 2020.
In 2018, Clarks in India reported revenue of ₹220 crore; and this year it will be around ₹350 crore with plans to report around ₹500 crore next year, he said.
Clarks sources nearly 60 per cent of its footwear sold in India from domestic vendors, including Tata International and Farida Group. “We promote ‘Make-in-India’ strongly,” he said. The rest are sourced from Vietnam, Bangladesh and a small portion from China.
Clarks’ journey in India began in 2012, with the first five years spent on understanding consumer behaviour; venturing into various channels like distribution and e-commerce; and creating market apt product. In the last two years, the company focussed on increasing its retail presence. Last year, the company’s products were available at nearly 300 retail touch points. This year, it will be close to 600 and in three years it will be 1,500. This will help in reaching out to 2.5 million pairs from the present 900,000 pairs, he said.
Clarks’ men’s shoes are available in price range between ₹5,000 and ₹8,000 while the women’s footwear priced between ₹4,000 and ₹6,000, he said.