Metro Brands plans retail expansion

Footwear major Metro Brands Ltd is planning to strengthen its retail presence across the country by opening over 200 stores over the next three years.

The company plans to float an IPO (initial public offering) and utilise the funds raised from it to fuel its retail expansion plan.

“Offline expansion will aid omni-channel presence as well as shore up offerings in the e-commerce space. Most stores double-up as omni-channel aiding deliveries for orders made online,” Nissan Joseph CEO Metro Brands told Businessline.

“IPO proceeds go primarily into expansion of stores. There’s been a revival in market demand with numbers being higher than pre-Covid levels. Premium offerings are witnessing movement again. And e-commerce is also not as deep discounting a channel as it used to be. The digital space has evolved as a complementary channel focused more on convenience rather than being a liquidation channel as it was earlier,” he added.

Metro Brands currently operates 586 stores pan-India. It owns the eponymous brand and Mochi, apart from Walkway and operates Crocs exclusive-brand outlets across the country as the American footwear company's national retail partner.