Khadim’s may face growth decline

Khadim’s Footwear is the leading organized footwear brand in eastern India and is the country’s

third-largest organized footwear retailer. Firmly entrenched as the numero uno player in the east with 585 stores in India and mushrooming, the company’s year-on-year growth seems to be on a decline. In the financial year 2009 it experienced 30 per cent growth but in this fiscal year saw the growth rate slide to 20 per cent and might even slip lower in the near future. This is possibly due to the fact that whilst the footwear brand is strongly focused in retaining its lead in the east, this part of the country has become a mature market for the brand and indicates that it should look at other regions of India to continue to experience better growth.

Siddhartha Roy Burman the young and upbeat MD of Khadim’s India sees it otherwise. His focus is to reach people with more retail outlets in the prime and upcoming business locations in eastern India where he would offer a wide array of contemporary designs capable of attracting customers across the consumption pyramid.

Six decades old, since 1993, Khadim’s has scripted one of the biggest success stories in a branded India, and maintained its leadership position in the East through a combination of factors: a chain of footwear outlets in the high streets and major shopping destinations; dynamic merchandising with focus on changing trends; and a revamp of the system coupled with induction of fresh talent to give backend support to its footwear retail outlets. The company plans to expand its manufacturing base to support future growth.