A revolution is underway in India’s trainer industry

It is likely that you have not heard of Taiwan’s Hong Fu Industrial Group, but look down on a busy road and you can see its products well.

Hong Fu is the second largest manufacturer in the world of trainers (sneakers), who supplies shoes to Nike, Convers, Adidas, Puma and many others. It makes around 200 million pairs of sports shoes in a year.

So when it made a big investment in the Indian market, the footwear industry paid attention.

Hong Fu is currently building a huge plant in Panapakkam in the state of Tamil Nadu, South East India. When perfectly operating, in the next three to five years, it will make 25 million pairs of shoes a year to provide employment to more than 25,000 workers.

The project stars Indian partners, including Florence Shoe Company President Akil Panaruna: “International market is saturated and he (Hong Fu) was looking for a new market,” he explains.

Mr. Panruna said, “There has been a huge increase in non-lime shoes in India. It has great potential.”

The Government of India is keen to attract such investment, it is expected that it will increase the standard in the footwear industry and promote exports.

To inspire the industry, last August, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced new quality rules for all shoes sold in India.

Under those standards, for example, the material must pass testing of strength and flexibility.

Sandeep Sharma, a journalist and a footwear industry expert, says, “These BIS standards are actually about market cleaning. We have flooded very low quality products, and consumers are better.”

But cannot buy shoes from many famous brands in India.

Serving them is a huge and complex network of small shoe manufacturers, known as the unorganized region.

Their affordable products are attributed to two-thirds of the total footwear market.

Ashoka (he withdrew his full name) is counted himself as a part of the region, which has shoe -making units across Agra district in northern India. They estimate that 200,0000 pairs of shoes are made by operations like Agra everyday.

“Many consumers, especially in rural and low-urban urban areas, opt for cheap local footwear rather than branded options,” they say.

“Many organized brands struggle to expand their retail footprints in semi-urban and rural areas because we complete them.”

So how will the new government’s standard affect manufacturers like Ashok?

“It’s complicated,” says Mr. Sharma.

“I think the government is trying to walk on a test here. They cannot close thousands of small businesses that provide employment to millions of people – this will be financial suicide.

“What I am seeing is more than a carrot-and-stick approach. They are insisting on standards, but rolling out programs to help small manufacturers upgrade their procedures. It is not about erasing the unorganized sector, but gradually to fold them.”

The situation is more complex that is the unorganized area Known well for Creating fake shoes of big brands.

While there is a stylish bargaining between Indian shopkeepers, other countries Is complementary for a long time About disadvantages.

Meanwhile, a host of new Indian trainers-producers is getting spring to serve India’s growing middle class.

Sabib Agraval is trying to be interested in barefoot footwear – shoes, which their manufacturers say, are healthy for the leg because they encourage natural, or bare feet, movement.

Mr. Aggarwal says that his company, Zen barefoot, is unusual because most of the Indian footwear industry is not very innovative.

“There are very few people who are ready to take time and invest in new techniques. Indian manufacturing is a lot of profit- first market, ROI (return on investment).

“And in many cases, even the government is not ready to enable these industries through grant or tax relief, which makes it quite difficult.”

Comet is an Indian firm who is looking to new.

This claims to be the first homegron trainer brand that owns the entire production process from design to manufacturing.

“This level of control allows us to experiment with materials, introduce innovative silhouettes, and to refine continuously based on the real response,” says the founder Atkarash Gupta.

He says that comets of shoes are adapted to India’s climate and roads.

“Most homegron brands rely on the off-the-shelf soles from the market, but when we started a comet, we realized that they had a lack of quality, durability and grip,” they say.

He is coming in the area of ​​shoes he says. “A change in high value is now happening.”

He said, “Many high-value brands need to be transferred to India. In 3-5 years, we must have a strong ecosystem to compete in the international sneaker market,” they say.

Back to Agra, Ashok hopes that the unorganized sector is not neglected amidst the growth of India’s shoes industry.

“The government should give us recognition and certificate so that our factories are not closed. Once we join the organized sector, no shoe can beat India in the manufacturing industry.”

But Mr. Sharma says that change is unavoidable.

“The market is definitely going to shift. We will see big players growing up – they have money to adapt quickly.

“But I don’t think small people will completely disappear. Smart people will find their niche.”