India’s Phoenix Kothari Footwear Limited and Taiwan’s ShoeTown Group, through their joint venture JR One Footwear Private Limited, plan to establish two new manufacturing facilities and leather component clusters in Tamil Nadu.
“We are expanding by setting up manufacturing facilities in two additional districts,” announced Rafiq Ahmed, chairman of Phoenix Kothari Footwear Limited. “We will also introduce two new international footwear brands and reveal the names of the districts soon.”
Component clusters, which typically source parts from Vietnam or China, underscore the need to boost domestic production to reduce reliance on imports. The Kothari Group has a special partnership with Ron Chang, chairman of ShoeTown Group, to produce footwear in India, aiming for mutual growth.
“I’m pleased to collaborate with our partner Rafeeq in Tamil Nadu,” said Chang. “This partnership represents significant growth potential and adds substantial value for our future business development in Tamil Nadu.”
The company has also committed Rs. 5,000 crore to build a facility in Perambalur to manufacture ‘Crocs’ footwear. JR One Footwear has stated that this development will create around 1,700 direct and indirect jobs in the region.
