British brand Clarks targets having 150 exclusive outlets in India

Clarks wants to have 150 exclusive brand outlets in India within the next three or four years. As of now, the iconic British footwear brand has 50 outlets. The company would also be increasing its focus on e-commerce and exploring the phygital mode for the next phase of the growth trajectory. Online account for 10 to 15 per cent sales and phygital is catching up. Clarks is increasing its presence to around 400 large format stores this year from 300 such stores in the previous year, and also plans to sell its footwear through 200 mom and pop stores, a format it has not been present in. The company’s products are also getting into army canteens. The company sold nine lakh pairs of footwear during 2019 compared to five lakh pairs in the previous year. Plans are to increase this to 1.4 million pairs during 2020. Almost 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the products it sells in India are sourced from the country itself.

India’s footwear market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13 per cent over the next five years. The country has overtaken the US in footwear consumption, throwing up enormous market potential for manufacturers.