Arvind eyes big entry into footwear segment

After announcing aggressive e-commerce plans, the textile industry conglomerate Arvind now plans to venture into the Rs 30,000 crores unorganized Indian footwear market with its own footwear labels and other shoe brands for online retail. The company has roped in Rajiv Mehta from Puma India to spearhead its footwear vertical.

Apart from launching its own footwear brands, the group would also retail acquired, licensed and joint venture labels. To begin with, the company is looking at launching footwear items from its brands such as Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, followed by other national and international brands under its portfolio.

Arvind Internet, the online arm from Arvind textiles plans to generate Rs 1,000 crores revenues over the next three years from its e-commerce business. The plan is to launch several online business models at a regular gap to establish steady presence in the competitive market.

As per latest statistics by the Council for Leather Exports, India is the second largest global producer of footwear after China, accounting for 13 percent of global footwear production of 16 billion pairs. Interestingly, 95 percent of its production goes into meeting domestic demand.