TN taps potential in footwear space

Suppliers of brands like Nike, Crocs, Adidas, Puma, others shifting mfg facility to the state

- 

TWO major shifts are happening in footwear sector. One, consumers globally are preferring non-leather footwear like slippers, sneakers, boots, sports shoes, running shoes and so on, and global brands are shifting or diversifying their supply chain out of China and Vietnam.

India's efforts to capture companies shifting bases out of China in electronics sector are gaining much attention, but footwear sector churn is not widely known.

Tamil Nadu is capitalising this trend with policy initiatives and creating a material ecosystem. It's unlike electronics where it faces severe competition from other states. Suppliers of brands like Nike, Crocs, Adidas, Puma and others are shifting their manufacturing facility to the state. Major Taiwanese contract manufacturers of global footwear companies have announced investments of more than 6,600 crore in recently concluded investor's meet.

Feng Tay, High Glory Footwear India, TKG Taekwong, Hong Fu and Singapore-based Zhong Bu are some of the companies that expressed interest in Tamil Nadu. Most of these manufacturing are joint ventures with Indian companies with technology licensing, and equity tie-ups. The state traditionally has a strong leather footwear sector with clusters in Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Ranipet, Vellore, Erode and Dindigul regions. It has 38% share in total footwear and leather output in the country, according to the state government data.