JOIN USThe country’s largest selling footwear brand, Paragon, which has a presence in the four southern states is looking to set up a plant in Maharashtra in the next financial year, a top company official said.
The plant’s thrust on polyurethane (PU) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) footwear manufacturing is estimated to entail an investment of Rs 50 crore.
According to Paragon Director - Marketing Joseph Zachariah, “The setting up of a new facility is in the planning stage and we are likely to narrow down on a location in the Pune, Nashik or Nagpur belts.”
While the company is yet to finalise the capacity, approximately 15,000-20,000 pairs a day can be manufactured at the plant.
“Maharashtra, being one of our largest markets, will help us to save on freight and also decentralise by producing to the specific taste of each state,” Zachariah said.
Exclusive sales outlets
“Besides panning out into central India, the company is also looking at setting up a network of exclusive sales outlets beginning with one in Bangalore this financial year. Going forward, the company would look at adding one such store in all the major cities of South India,” Paragon Group Director Thomas Mani said.
The proposal will be of considerable significance to Paragon as it seeks to get into new categories like kids range and sports shoes with relatively higher unit value, Mani added.
Paragon’s total production capacity (inhouse) is 4.5 lakh pairs a day.
Apart from inhouse production, the footwear company has also outsourced production of footwear to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kottayam, Kolkata and other places.
Total sales are estimated at 12 crore pairs each year. The company aims to achieve Rs 1,600 crore turnover when compared to Rs 1,400 crore in the last financial year and is targeting volumes of 14 crore pairs.
The company has roped in Kannada actor Sudeep for endorsing the product in the southern market.