Liberty lines up Rs 160 cr for expansion

Liberty Shoes Ltd will be investing around Rs 160 crore in expansion over the next three years. With the expansion, the company is targeting an annual turnover of Rs 265 crore in 2006-07. This year, it is looking at Rs 230 crore.

Currently, Liberty's four units, located at Karnal and Dehradun, manufacture 43,000 pairs of footwear a day. With capacity enhancement, the company plans to manufacture 75,000 pairs of footwear a year.

To achieve the same, Liberty plans to set up three manufacturing units at a total cost of Rs 60 crore in the next one year and expects to achieve sales of Rs 120 crore from them in the next three years.

Liberty Group CEO Adesh Gupta, giving further details about the proposed units said, "Of the three manufacturing units, one will come up at Roorkee and two at Paonta Sahib in Uttaranchal, with an investment of Rs 80-Rs 85 crore, thereby creating employment for 1,500 skilled and semi-killed workers."

The two units at Paonta Sahib would produce non-leather footwear and commence production by June 2006. Set up with an investment of Rs 35 crore, the units will cater to the domestic market and will have a production capacity of 20,000-25,000 pairs of footwear a day.

The Roorkee unit, which will produce leather footwear, will start production from January 2007. Spread over 8 acres of land, the unit will have a capacity of 5,000 pairs of footwear a day. "The investment for the Roorkee unit will be Rs 50 crore and the unit will manufacture shoes with an MRP of Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000," said Gupta.

Gupta was in Karnal to launch the company's new range of summer footwear "Thunda Funda Style".

Currently, the shoe industry is a Rs 10,000-crore market, with the organised sector being between Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,000 crore.

Liberty's market share is slated to be between 20-25 per cent. Emphasizing that Liberty is the only company which is a manufacturer as well as a wholesaler and a retailer, Gupta said from being one of the leading brands in India, the strategy now was to achieve a similar status abroad.

The company plans to expand its retail chain network across the country by opening 25 company-owned outlets under the brand "Revolution".

"We will be entering towns with a population of more than 10 lakh, and have already booked space in the upcoming malls," stated Gupta. In Punjab, the Revolution stores will come up in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Ludhiana and will provide the entire company range.

Along with that, 50 franchisee stores under the brand "Franchisee Foot Fashion" will come up in the country. Company officials said an investment of Rs 15-Rs 25 lakh will be made in them.

Automobile sector foray

After diversifying into the sanitary ware segment, the group is entering the automobile segment. The group is setting up a Liberty Automotive Private Limited, spread over 5 acres, in Gurgaon.

It will be a joint venture with an Israeli company and will produce auto parts which will cater to either the two-wheeler or four-wheeler auto segment, according to company officials.