Footwear brand Attitudist aims Rs 100 crore annual sales by 2025

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Attitudist, a direct to consumer (D2C) footwear brand, aims to generate Rs 100 crore in annual sales by 2025, helped by surging demand for handcrafted vegan products. The company, launched during the peak pandemic period in July 2020, clocked Rs 25 crore in two years after operations, and sources products from small handcrafted manufacturers.

«During the pandemic, we recognized the struggle of numerous small-scale artisans who were left without any business. In addition, they were grappling with the unpredictability of offline markets, the increasing shift towards online businesses and sales, and issues such as inventory and capital blocking and space concerns.

These obstacles also extended into online marketplaces,» said Haritima Mishra, the 21-year-old founder of the men's footwear brand. During covid, D2C companies took incumbents by surprise by innovating products to address niche spaces by leveraging consumer data and insights, etc.

«Headstart helped D2C companies gain market share, but journey hereon may not be easy since incumbents have started to use the same playbook of D2C companies such as launching competing products, being agile across business operations, looking at digital business from separate P&L, talent perspective, etc,» said a report by Ambit Capital. Attitudist does not own manufacturing set-up but has partnered over 100 local artisans and craftsmen in and around Agra to make vegan leather products.

It claimed vegan leather offers various benefits — from cruelty free and durable to ensuring it remains undamaged even during difficult weather conditions such as heavy rains. Within the lifestyle and discretionary segments, footwear witnessed one of the highest growth last fiscal year, growing 34%, over