Crocs footwear to be manufactured in Tamil Nadu; more jobs on the anvil

Chennai: Crocs, a premium global brand of footwear, will now be manufactured in Tamil Nadu with the JR One Kothari Footwear Private Limited commencing operations in Perambalur district on Tuesday, as the state projects itself as the hub for non-leather footwear manufacturing in the country.

The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility has come up at the Footwear Park in Perambalur, 270 km from Chennai, at a cost of Rs 400 crore providing jobs to 4,000 people. Inaugurating the facility exactly a year after laying the foundation stone, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the company has promised to invest Rs 2,440 crore over the period of next five years as part of its expansion plans by providing jobs to 29,500 persons.

The development comes close on the heels of Pou Chen Corporation and Feng Tay, who manufacture shoes for major global brands like Nike, Adidas, Timberland, and New Balance, beginning work on building their factories in Tamil Nadu. Pou Chen Corporation and Feng Tay are setting up manufacturing units in Kallakurichi and Tiruvannamalai districts respectively.

“The new manufacturing plant inaugurated today will usher growth in

Perambalur region by bringing employment opportunities in the district and surrounding areas, for women, he said. Tamil Nadu’s model of scattered and uniform growth has received global appreciation and applause,” Stalin said at the event.

The JR One Kothari Footwear Private Limited’s manufacturing unit, where 80 per cent of the workforce are women, will produce Crocs brand of footwear for both domestic and export markets.

Stalin also announced that a footwear manufacturing park has been planned to be built at Panapakkam in Ranipet district with an outlay of Rs. 400 crore in an area of over 250 acres.

“This park will generate employment for 20,000 people. The government has also created ready-to-occupy non-leather footwear green clusters in association with SIPCOT along with private firms through a ‘public-private partnership’ model,” the Chief Minister added.

In the past one year, Pou Chen, Feng Tay, and Kothari-Phoenix Group have pledged investments worth Rs 6,000 crore for setting up non-leather footwear manufacturing units in Kallakurichi, Ranipet, Bargur, Cheyyar, and Tindivanam, which will provide jobs to nearly 80,000 people. The ultimate aim is to attract investments worth Rs 20,000 crore in the sector by 2025, the government has said.

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 brands like Nike, Adidas, Timberland, and New Balance that deal with 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.