Tata International buys 76% stake each in two footwear firms

Based in South India, BSIPL is India's largest manufacturer of children's footwear, which it supplies to several international brands across Europe. ESCPL is a manufacturer of footwear soles.

The Bachi family will continue to hold the residual stake and will work closely with TIL to manage and grow this business, a company statement said here.

With these acquisitions, TIL has established significant presence in the children's footwear segment. The buys considerably augment TIL's presence in the manufacture and export of footwear, take capacity to over 5 million pairs per year and make TIL one of India's largest exporters of footwear, it said.

Further, TIL now has consequential presence in all key footwear segments - men's, women's and children's footwear range, the release said.

TIL has a pioneering presence in the finished leather business in India through its state-of-the-art leather tanning and finishing facility located at Dewas near Indore.

TIL views footwear as a significant business opportunity with worldwide demand exceeding 3 billion pairs annually and China and India emerging as predominant manufacturing destinations, it added.