The Indian retail market for footwear is all set to boom with brands offering international designs, new brands making an entry and with the e-commerce picking up.
Growing at a compound annual rate of about 15 per cent, the Indian footwear industry is likely to reach the Rs38,000 crore about (US$7 billion) mark by 2015 from the current level of about Rs22,000 crore (nearly US$5 billion), says the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
The report further shows that India produces nearly 300 crore (3 billion) pairs of footwear annually, exports over 10 per cent and accounts for about 15 per cent of annual global footwear production, which is over 2000 crore (20 billion).
The growth in the market is attributed to an increase in the spending power of the middle class and the rising demand from second-tier and third-tier cities as well as the rural markets. Moreover, with so much exposure to international markets and designs, people are becoming fashion conscious and aspire to wear better quality products.
Additionally, Indian consumers, especially young professionals, tend to update their footwear collection every two to three months and maintain a separate portion of their salary only for shoe shopping.
The retail market for footwear is divided into various segments – formal, semi-formal, casual and sports. Adidas, Bata, Balujas, Converse, Da Milano, Lee Cooper, M&B, Metro, Nike, Provouge, Puma, Reebok, Red Tape and Relaxo are well known in India.
Brands including Hush Puppies and Dr. Scholl are making progress by targeting the segment with health issues like arthritis and others. Both these brands are available at Bata stores while Hush Puppies also have stand-alone stores.
Most of these brands have their exclusive outlets and account for about 55 per cent of the footwear market, while multi-brand retail outlets account for about 30 per cent.
Moreover, new brands that have recently entered the footwear retail market are Enroute, Jive and others.
Apart from bricks-and-mortar stores, online shoe shopping is fast emerging in terms of footwear sales, currently accounting for about eight per cent of the overall industry. It is expected to reach about 20 per cent by 2015.
Apart from various e-retailers including fashionandyou.com, myntra.com, jabong.com, yepme.com, bestylish.com and others, brands themselves are launching e-retail sites for their brands. The recent entrants in this arena are Woodland and Puma, offering the latest collections and convenience to its customers.
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