India: Textile giant Arvind enters footwear market

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Feb 17, 2015

Already present in the textile, clothing and e-commerce sectors, Indian group Arvind has announced its intention to enter the local footwear market, which is valued at 300 billion rupees ($23.5m/£15.8m). 

"Our footwear will consist of a mix of our own and acquired brands, licenses and joint ventures," chairman and managing director Sanjay Lalbahi told the Times of India. "Initially, we will have footwear items from our brands such as Arrow, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, among others."

The announcement is important because Arvind stands out as a major player in the Indian market—a position that convinced Gap to choose Arvind to oversee the opening of its store network in the country. 

India is already the second largest footwear producer behind China, responsible for 13% of the 16 billion pairs produced annually around the world. India is unique in that almost 95% of its footwear production is directed towards its robust domestic market.