Skechers USA, Inc. has purchased 49 percent stake help by Kishore Biyani-led Future Group in its India joint venture, transitioning the business to a new wholly-owned subsidiary of the parent company. Skechers said in a statement that being one of the fastest growing and largest international markets for the brand, it believes that combining the experienced team and Skechers’ proven sales and marketing capabilities will allow it to grow the brand and its presence in a faster, more efficient manner, ultimately meeting its fullest potential.

“Skechers is still a relatively young brand in this country, having been in India for less than a decade, yet in the last five years, we have seen significant growth through our joint venture,” said Michael Greenberg, President of Skechers in a statement, adding, “The substantial existing retail network of over 200 stores, a strong wholesale business and a recently launched e-commerce site is a solid foundation that we can build upon.”

The network of Skechers retail locations in India currently includes 223 retail stores—61 of which will be Skechers owned and operated while the remaining are third-party owned. The company added that an additional 80 to 100 stores are planned for 2019—of which approximately 20 will be company-owned, company-operated. The Skechers India subsidiary will continue operating under its existing structure and from its existing headquarters location in Mumbai.

“2018 saw double digit increases in wholesale and retail sales and an 80 percent increase in pairs sold, reaching 2.7 million. We believe the strength of our diverse product and our marketing insight will help expand our product offering in India. As a subsidiary, we will be able to leverage our capital, product, logistics and business model to better maximize our brand exposure to the 1.3 billion consumers in this country. We expect this change to be accretive to our earnings,” added David Weinberg, COO of Skechers.

Picture:Facebook/Skechers