Globalite in talks to raise funds for expansion

Home-grown sports lifestyle footwear brand Globalite said it in talks to raise about $10 million to set up its own e-commerce venture and flagship retail stores.

Aayushi Kishore, CEO and Co-founder Globalite Footwear , said: “We have been expanding rapidly in the domestic market through multi-brand retail outlets and also through various marketplaces. However our ambition is to set up our own retail channel and own ecommerce and fulfilment channels. We are in advanced stage talks to raise funds.”

The company, which started operations three years ago, said it is plans to tap into the mid-market footwear category.

“Pricing of our product will be a key to our expansion strategy. Most brands operating in the sports lifestyle are astronomically priced. We are a leading player in the online market place. A majority of our products operate in the ₹500 price band targeting men sports footwear,” she said.

Globalite currently retails through modern wholesale like Wal-Mart, Metro, Carrefour, Reliance, Tesco, Aditya Birla and Big Bazaar, among others. It also retails through television shopping channels such as Home Shop 18.

The Indian footwear segment is estimated at ₹15,000 crore (both organised as well as well as unorganised).

“Currently, 70 per cent of our sales come from the online category and the balance from 30 per cent from offline. Hence, brick and mortar retail is an important category for us,” she added.

Globalite said it sells around 4000-5,000 pairs on Flipkart alone, Kishore said.

On its retail expansion, Kishore said that the company is also looking to set up 10 retail stores. Speaking on its revenue, Kishore said that the company closed FY15 at ₹47 crore. “We are targeting a revenue ₹70 crore in FY16.”

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