Metro Brands, a retailer of footwear, is rapidly growing its network of stores. With the exception of any possible additional Fila locations, it intends to open 225 stores over the course of the next two fiscal years.
The corporation opened 15 outlets in the April–June 2024 quarter. It plans to open more than 100 new locations during this fiscal year, adding the remaining locations the following year. The industry saw a weak demand environment for the previous fiscal year, despite this aggressive expansion plan.
“Our philosophy has been such that when there is pessimism in the market, that is when Metro is most aggressive,” Kaushal Parekh, CFO of Metro Brands said on the sidelines of the RAI Retail CFO Summit 2024.
Parekh stated that the fact that the first quarter’s contribution from products costing more than Rs. 3,000 increased to 54 per cent from 49 per cent was a sign that growth was on the way back. Other than that, the quarter was quiet because to fewer marriages, the national heat wave, and general elections.
After setting a record with 115 store openings in FY ’23, Metro, which has the highest market value among listed footwear stocks at around Rs. 36,724 crore, added 97 stores in FY ’24. Parekh anticipates that the sports and athleisure industry will grow significantly in the future. Ten years ago, Metro was primarily a black-and-brown formal shoe manufacturer. Today, more than 60 per cent of Metro’s sales come from the casual and sports category.
Parekh anticipates that this figure will rise in the future, particularly once Fila and Foot Locker establish themselves as significant brands. In the second half of this fiscal year, the business intends to place Fila in its Foot Locker stores and multi-brand outlets as part of its efforts to reset the brand in India. After customer acceptance of the brand increases, it will consider launching FILA-only brand stores in FY ’26.
