Relaxo Footwears to invest Rs 150 crore in new manufacturing facility

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Nov 23, 2020

Footwear group Relaxo Footwears Limited plans to invest Rs 150 crore ($22.5 million) in a new manufacturing facility in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, finding high demand for slippers and sandals. 

 
Relaxo Footwears is looking to significantly expand its production of footwear styles including slippers and sandals, which have seen an increase in popularity due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Press Trust of India reported. 
 
“Demand for open footwears is going up due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Relaxo Footwears’ managing director, Ramesh Kumar, the Press Trust of India reported.

“We are trying to increase production to meet that demand. We have planned investment of Rs 150 crore this financial year. Majority of this amount will go for setting up a new manufacturing facility in Bhiwadi.”
 
The brand shared that open footwear (such as flip flops) accounted for 80% of its total sales during the pandemic. It foresees this trend continuing, but expects closed footwear demand to increase during the winter months. 
 
“Our first quarter revenue was affected due to nationwide lockdown,” said Kumar. “Second quarter onwards sales started picking up led by demand for open footwear. We are looking at achieving 90% of last financial year's turnover in the current fiscal.”
 
Relaxo Footwears retails through a number of its brands including School Mate, Bahamas, Flite, and Sparkx.

In the 2020 financial year which ended on March 31, 2020, the brand reported a net profit of Rs 226.3 crore with a revenue total of Rs 2,410.5 crore during the same time period.