British international shoe manufacturers Clarks is looking towards growth in its Indian market. India is now the second largest consumer of footwear globally, last year surpassing the US by 200 million pairs, it is also the fastest-growing market at an annual growth rate of 7.6% in the last three years.
India’s footwear consumption per person increased from 1.7 in 2016 to 2 in 2018. Even one pair increase in per capita consumption of India will lead to 1.2 billion more pairs being consumed, Clarks India CEO N Mohan told reporters at a press meet to announce the 2020 Leather Fashion Show.
Clarks sources nearly 60% of its footwear sold in India from domestic vendors, including Tata International and the Farida Group.
“We promote ‘Made-in-India’ strongly,” he said. The rest is sourced from Vietnam, Bangladesh and a small portion from China.
Clarks’ journey in India began in 2012, with the first five years spent on understanding consumer behaviour; venturing into various channels like distribution and e-commerce; and creating a market-ready product. In the last two years, the company focussed on increasing its retail presence. Last year, the company’s products were available at nearly 300 retail touch points. This year, it will be close to 600 and in three years it will be 1,500.
“This will help in reaching the target of 2.5 million pairs from the present 900,000 pairs,” Mohan said.
