MUMBAI: The joint venture between Sketchers and Future Group has come to an end with the Indian reetail major selling its 49% share in the JV to US footwear brand.
Although, financial details were not disclosed, market reports say Sketchers has paid the Kishore Bayani-owned brand around Rs 5.8 billion for the stake.
“Few markets match the potential for growth like India does, which is why we entered the market initially, and recently decided to buy the minority stake in our joint venture,” David Weinberg, chief operating officer of Sketchers, stated.
The US based athletic footwear brand, which entered Indian market in 2012, is rigorously making efforts to expand it business, what with India being such a large market for sports merchandise.
The company is upping its operations in India and is planning to open 80-100 retail outlets and 20 of these will be owned and run by them directly as standalone ones, Economic Times reports.
“The effort of our team has resulted in significant growth as illustrated in our year-over-year numbers — 2018 saw double-digit increases in wholesale and retail sales and an 80% increase in pairs sold, reaching 2.7 million,” Weinburg further stated.
Recently, the company awarded its marketing mandate rights to Leo Burnett India. Its branding initiatives include being the title sponsor of the Chennai Marathon and the Mumbai Walkathon.
