Skechers eyes robust growth in India, to boost manufacturing

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Mint, David Weinberg, COO of Skechers USA, said the company is committed to strengthening its presence in India as one of the top brands. Skechers' solid financial foundation allows for flexible investments in response to market needs, he said. “As far as the amount (is concerned), we as a company never preset the amount we're going to invest.

We are very receptive to the market, we built the company with a very strong balance sheet with the capacity to invest where necessary to grow our brand and right now, we believe that India is the place that we look to the most, we're looking to do more significant things in India," Weinberg said. "We are looking to bring production of footwear and apparel and accessories into the market for both domestic and export, so we're looking to this to be a flagship operation for us both on the manufacturing end and dealing with the consumers here, making it one of their top brands. So it's on both levels that that we're looking to invest in," he said.

The Mumbai facility is designed for expansion, potentially growing from 650,000 to a million square feet to meet increasing demand, he said. "We know we need more facilities, we need them in other places when we see how it grows here," he added. Skechers' journey in India began in 2012 with a 51:49 joint venture with Future Group.

In 2018, Skechers took full control of the venture by acquiring the minority stake for approximately ₹580 crore (around $100 million), to consolidate its position in the Indian market. “When we realized both the success of the team here and the market, we moved very quickly to buy the other half of the joint venture we didn't own. That amount is on public record — close to $100 million.