Skechers remains bullish on India, to add 300 stores

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jul 24, 2017

US footwear and apparel major Sketchers which is expecting to achieve record third quarter sales in range of $1.050 billion and $1.075 billion is bullish on the Indian market with plans of expanding in metros, tier II & tier III cities by adding 300 stores and a launch of its own e-commerce portal.

Skechers reported record-setting sales of $1.026 billion in its second quarter of fiscal 2017 and the footwear firm is looking to invest some of that in expansion of its India operations.  With all major retailers and e-tailers turning to tier II and tier III cities, Skechers too has decided to shift its focus from the metros and tap the potential in these cities by adding stores.

The company is planning to add around 300 new stores in India over the next three to five years with focus on tier II and tier III cities, Skechers Sarl Managing Partner Marvin Bernstein said. Bernstein was in India  for the opening of Skechers 90th store which has an area of 1,500 sq ft at the Ambience Mall in Gurugram.

Skechers is also planning to adopt an omni channel approach in India by integrating its offline stores to its soon to be launched e-commerce platform. "In another 3-6 months' time, we are already going live with Skechers.in and it all our stores would be integrated with that," Bernstein added.

In its second quarter release, Robert Greenberg, Skechers Chief Executive officer, had said that the company had achieved double-digit growth in many countries worldwide—including India and expected the growth to continue in the third quarter.

From 2015 to 2016, the Indian sportswear market grew 22 percent, outpacing the segment's global increase of 7 percent according to a report by Euromonitor. By 2020, it is expected to grow an additional 12 percent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) with sales expected to reach $8 billion. It is no surprise global brands are turning to India to cash in on this growth rate.

Skechers currently has around 90 stores in India with a 50:50 ratio of company owned and franchise stores. The company recently launched its apparel section in India and will soon bring its accessories line in India across all platforms. Apart from its offline stores, Skechers is available on leading e-commerce platforms like Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Jabong, Snapdeal and others.