Mumbai: American footwear and athletic accessories brand Skechers, which aims to double its India business in the next two years, plans to start manufacturing in the country. “We are looking at doubling our business and start manufacturing here in the next two years. We are still early in the process, but in the next 2-3 years it is incumbent on us to start manufacturing here,” David Weinberg, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Skechers, told PTI today.
“We’d like to export from here as well, by building our product here as an alternative to the Pacific Rim, and take it to markets like the Middle East (West Asia) and Europe,” he added. “We are looking at it on a more expanded basis rather than trying to keep it local. Right now, we are manufacturing in the Pacific Rim, including northern China, Vietnam and Indonesia.”
Skechers, which has a presence in India since 2012 as a joint venture with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is looking to double its business in two years. Weinberg indicated that if the company doesn’t grow by ‘at least 50 per cent’ in the next year, it will look to push harder. “That’s a minimum for us in new markets.”
Skechers has 35 stores, and is present in over 700 multi-brand outlets in India. “We will open significant amount of our own retail here. We are looking to expand on a francise basis, and will continue to expand in multi-brand outlets, all by developing product for a broad base of consumers in India,” he added.
The brand, which recently dislodged Adidas and Puma to take the No. 2 position after Nike in the US this year, is primarily focussing on international business. “International business is about 35 per cent of our USD 3 billion turnover globally. It is the fastest-growing piece and we expect that it will have grown by over 45 per cent this year,” Weinberg said.
Skechers anticipates its global turnover would hit USD 5 billion from the current USD 3 billion in 5 years, and that business outside of US would be well in excess of 50 per cent. China is currently the largest international market for Skechers. The brand is expecting a turnover of USD 400 million in China by 2016 from USD 90 million in 2014. “We expect the brand to grow at a similar pace in India,” he said.
