Foot Locker continues to bet on Asia. An American sports fashion distribution company plans to land in India and is in talks to enter the country with a local partner, including one of the country’s largest footwear distributors, Metro Brands, a TV channel reported. ET now.
In recent years Foot Locker has continued to expand its presence on the Asian continent A store opened in the Philippines in December, located in the business center of Manila Glorietta. Also, the company will enter Indonesia in 2021 and launch first in Asia with an opening in Singapore in 2020.
Metro Brands Group, for its part, operates 598 stores across India, including international brands such as Mochi, Walkway, Da Vinci or Crocs.
India will overtake Germany as one of the top fashion consumer markets by 2026.
In recent months, other sportswear distribution companies have entered the Indian market. In July, American group Gap inked a deal with local giant Reliance Retail to plan new openings. The company, which was already present in India, abruptly left the country in 2020 due to severe lockdowns in the country due to the progression of Covid-19.
Now, Gap is looking to re-consolidate its presence in India and will open single-brand stores, multi-brand outlets and various e-commerce platforms in association with Reliance Brands. The local distributor works with other international brands such as Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Diesel, Emporio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hugo Boss, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany, Tory Burch or Versace.
Sports equipment giant Reebok has also chosen India, and in December 2021 the company signed an agreement with distributor Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (Abfrl) for its integration in the country. The agreement between the two companies includes the opening of Reebok sales points in the multi-brand channel, as well as e-commerce platforms and own stores in India and other Asian countries.
After the epidemic, India has once again emerged as one of the most promising markets for the fashion industry. Among the international groups with the longest experience in the country is the Spanish Pepe Jeans, which has been joined by several operators in recent years.
According to data from Euromonitor, by 2026, India will overtake Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan as the third largest fashion consumer market.
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