India
is the second largest global producer of footwear, second only to
China. Often referred to as the sleeping giant, when it comes to
footwear, India has an the capacity of producing over 1,800 million
pairs of footwear. The majority of footwear produced in India are
men’s leather shoes and leather uppers for both men and ladies.
There are hundreds of fully mechanised, modern shoe making plants all
over the country that undertake that task.
While
leather shoes and leather uppers are produced in medium to
large-scale units, sandals and chappals are manufactured in the
household and cottage sector. However, with changing lifestyles and
increasing affluence of other cultures and international fashion,
domestic demand for footwear is projected to grow at a faster rate
than has been seen. These has resulted in global brands such as Nike,
Adidas, Puma, Reebok, Rockport, and many more to create shoes that
are designed for the domestic market. This has led to a revolution of
sorts in the Indian footwear industry as the industry has been made
ready to adopt modern state-of-the-art technology to meet the growing
demands of domestic as well as international requirements and
standards.
Strength
of India in the footwear sector is mainly due to the fact that the
country has a reliable supply of resources in the form of raw hides
and skins, quality finished leather, large installed capacities for
production of finished leather and footwear. Moreover, India has a
very large human capital with expertise and technology base, skilled
manpower and relatively low cost labor, which aids in making the
footwear industry flourish even more.
India
has emerged in recent years as a relatively sophisticated low to
medium
cost
supplier to world markets; therefore, the leather industry in India
has been targeted by the Government of India as an engine for
economic growth. Progressively, the Government has prodded and
legislated a reluctant industry to modernise.
With
the rise in footwear industry in India, there is also a need to
create a more systematic network of shoe repair shops
in the country. Indian’s are known to recycle their footwear,
rather than dumping them and getting new ones. Therefore, it is the
need of the hour to set up qualified and well trained shoe repair professionals
who can handle the large number of domestic demands for shoe repair.
