Mary Dillon, the Global Chief Executive of Foot Locker, has stated that Indians are moving beyond merely having a culture of sports shoes and are increasingly requesting sneakers like Jordans and Samba, following a trend observed in the US and China many years ago.
With a long-term licensing agreement, the New York-based athletic retailer Foot Locker is expanding into India. Metro Brands will own and run Foot Locker locations in India, while Nykaa Fashion will be its sole e-commerce partner. According to Dillon, the vast casualization trend that COVID expedited will support the company’s expansion in India.
“When people look at this category, they realise that sneakers could be useful in their daily lives. We anticipate that these patterns will persist. India is a very high priority new market,” Dillon added. “We are also seeing as a multi-branded retailer, once people enter the category, they would like to buy multiple brands.”
The business may launch new brands, such as those that are currently unavailable in India but are distributed throughout the world. By 2028, 66 million pairs of trainers are expected to be sold in India. Foot Locker continues to outperform shops at a lower base, with 16% of its global sales coming from online.
Over the years, firms like Under Armour, Asics, and Skechers have expanded aggressively in India, which is one of the largest and fastest-growing foreign marketplaces for footwear and sportswear brands. In 28 countries in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, Foot Locker operates more than 2,800 retail locations.