Arvind Sports to bring global shoe brands Cole Haan and Heatwave

Arvind Sports Lifestyle plans to bring well-known shoe brands Cole Haan and Heatwave to India. It will help the company cash in on the growing footwear industry in India. A year ago, Arvind had entered the footwear segment to sell shoes of partners such as Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

American brand Cole Haan was earlier owned by Nike and it specialises in casual and dress leather shoes. It is now controlled by Apax Partners. Singapore-based Heatwave is known for its comfortable as well as high-heeled footwear. Arvind Sports Lifestyle plans to open first stores of both the brands by May. High-end shoes have a big market and as Rajiv Mehta, CEO, Arvind Sports points out, there is a huge vacuum in the price points between Rs 7,000 and Rs 21,000. So, these two brands will fill in the vacuum. In fact, positioning of Cole Haan will be right between premium and luxury.

In recent months, the footwear industry has seen aggressive expansion by major players such as Pavers England, Clarks, Aldo and Charles & Keith.