Evervan Kothari to invest Rs 5,000 crore Tamil Nadu, set up non-leather footwear units in Karur, Perambalur

Chennai: Evervan Kothari Footwear Limited on Wednesday pledged to invest Rs 5,000 crore in building two facilities in Perambalur and Karur districts in Tamil Nadu to manufacture non-leather footwear of various global brands. The investment is expected to generate jobs for 50,000 people, especially women, and help the economy in the two backward districts.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Evervan Kothari Footwear Limited, a joint venture of India’s Kothari and China’s Evervan, and Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state government’s investment bureau, on Wednesday in the presence of Chief Minister M K Stalin.

The Kothari Footwear group already manufactures Crocs, a premium global brand of footwear, from its manufacturing facility in Perambalur, 270 km from Chennai, and the fresh investment is in addition to the existing factory.

“The company will invest Rs 5,000 crore in Perambalur and Karur districts to employ about 50,000 women. A majority of the workers will be women much like in other non-leather footwear units in the state,” a source told DH.

Tamil Nadu is emerging as a hub for non-leather footwear manufacturing with Pou Chen Corporation and Feng Tay, who manufacture shoes for major global brands like Nike, Adidas, Timberland, and New Balance, already setting up their factories in Kallakurichi and Tiruvannamalai districts respectively. The ultimate aim is to attract investments worth Rs 20,000 crore in the sector by the end of this year, the source added.

Tamil Nadu is betting high on the non-leather footwear sector with the state already accounting for 45 per cent of exports in the leather footwear sector and will now be part of the global supply chain for global brands in non-leather footwear.

The government feels the labour-intensive industry will provide jobs to at least 15,000 to 20,000 people, especially women, in each location, which will further fuel the rural economy. The government has planned to set up factories in about 20 locations across the state.