India incredibly important, one of our top markets today: Skechers CFO

The 650 square metre facility is capable of shipping up to 60,000 pairs of shoes per day and will interface with Skechers' direct-to-consumer channel and its headquarters in Mumbai as well as the USA

Skechers, The Comfort Technology Company, has opened Phase 1 of its new National Distribution Center (NDC) near Mumbai and has begun shipping to its nationwide retail network in India. The 650 square metre facility is capable of shipping up to 60,000 pairs of shoes per day and will interface with Skechers’ direct-to-consumer channel and its headquarters in Mumbai as well as the United States. In an exclusive interview, John Vandemore, chief financial officer at Skechers USA Inc., David Weinberg, chief operating officer at Skechers USA Inc., and Rahul Vira, chief executive officer at Skechers, South Asia, talk to Sharleen D’Souza about India being one of the fastest-growing markets for it globally. Edited excerpts:

Why have you set up a new distribution centre now? What is changing in the Indian market?

Vandemore: It’s part of our growth strategy for the market. Up to this point, we’ve used third parties very successfully. As we continue to invest in the market, it’s important for us to control, from a distribution standpoint, our capacity. The industry we built here is expandable up to potentially a million square feet. But even that may not ultimately be enough because what we obviously are hoping for, and working towards, is continuing to grow the Indian market.

Weinberg: We don’t see distribution centres as profit centres or a way to save money to be efficient necessarily. What we’re looking for is growth. We can’t grow that quickly with third parties because they have too many investment decisions to make. We have to take care of the investment in the equipment and the infrastructure to build it. In the next few years and as we get to more capacity we will be starting the next one.

How many more distribution centres do you plan to open in the next two-three years?

Weinberg: As many as we need, depending on how the business grows.

How important is the Indian market for Skechers?

Vandemore: It’s one of our top markets today and it continues to be one of our-fastest growing markets. I’m pretty convinced it’ll be one of the top five markets for us. It can be one of the cornerstones of our growth as a brand as we attempt to get to $10 billion in sales globally.

Weinberg: In India, we see the opportunity to invest even more in the production of footwear and apparel.

What is your current store count in India and how do you plan to expand?

Vira: As of now we have over 400 retail stores, and we keep adding them where we see an opportunity because India as a market is growing, there are cities that are growing and a lot of the existing cities have multiple micro markets, which need to be catered to. We are adding stores there. And also, at the same time, there are a lot of markets where we have been present. We have also been increasing the store sizes there.

Which are the other markets growing at a significant pace for Skechers?

Vandemore: There are markets in Europe that have grown incredibly over the past couple of years. There are markets in Southeast Asia. It’s never quite frankly the same country every year, except that I will say that India has been one of our top performers consistently each of the last three years.  
 

Which are the other markets growing at a significant pace for Skechers? 

Vandemore: I can tell you there are markets in Europe that have grown incredibly over the last couple of years. There are markets in Southeast Asia; it's never quite frankly the same country every year, except I will say that India has been one of our top performers consistently each of the last three years, so they're never competing against others. We are growing very quickly across the globe, so for India to continue to exceed some of those very fast-growing markets, it's a testament to the team here, and the opportunity we believe the brand has in this market. 

Are you looking to source more from India? 

Vandemor: Absolutely. We believe India can be one of the few markets that is both fast-growing from a consumer perspective but also offers the opportunity as a foundation for manufacturing both for the local market and for the world. And that includes both apparel, accessories as well as footwear.