17 Indian Footwear Brands made in India by Indians

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Liberty

Started by the name Pal Boot House, the three founders of Liberty Shoes Dharam Pal Gupta, Purshotam Das Gupta, and Rajkumar Bansal in 1954. The first appearance of Liberty Shoes was after the association with Balbir Singh & Son’s in 1983. 

It gained its Public Limited on the 3rd of September in 1986 by the certificate of commencement of Business on 11th March 1988. This certificate was given to:

Setup Manufacturing Unit
Sell Leather and non Leather Shoe
Leather Shoe Uppers
Leather Garments 

With all this base, the company has engaged itself in the manufacturing of leather and non-leather goods.

Khadims

At the time of its incorporation on December 3, 1981, it was S.N. Footwear Industries Pvt. Ltd. Until 1993, they were involved in just whole-selling and distribution of the branded footwear that was already available. Thereafter, they themselves became involved in retailing and emerged as a popular fashion footwear brand. In addition to that, they were also one of the leading organized footwear in the whole of India. As of 2017, it has grown leaps and bounds to about 829 branded exclusive stores.

Paragon

Starting in the southernmost part of the country, Kerala, it was in the year 1975 that it possessed the capacity of producing 1500 pairs of footwear a day. After it became popular in Kerala, its home state, it started spreading its wings into other parts of the country. In the year 1982, after its start in stepping into its neighboring states, the company’s distribution slowly picked up and now has a capacity of 450 distributors and started delivering to the nook and corner of the country in a very short time.

Red Chief

Being an assemblage of potential footwear manufacturing units, a company by the name Leayan Global Pvt. Ltd. is a fast-growing part of RSPL. Having a respected name in the leather industry since 1995, they started their primary business with a single production unit, with its own brand called Ghari in 1988.

Hard work and innovation took Ghari to a leading FMCG brand in India. This made way to a new brand Red Chief, which was started in 1997 to meet the growing demand for high-quality footwear. It has two manufacturing units and its own tannery to increase its production capacity and fulfill the growing needs of consumers.

Metro Shoes

In 1947, the year of freedom, a single shoe store opened its doors to the public in Mumbai. Located in the prime area, Colaba, the brand name as Metro shoes, is now a household in the whole country. This footwear brand at present is known for its:

• Unmatched quality
• Skilled craftsmanship
• High-fashion products

Very recently, the brand has had a presence in more than 206 prime locations across 100 and more cities in India. Metro shoes have an extensive collection that caters to every other need of its customers including accessories.

Inc.5

Started and was limited to basic and formal footwear manufacturing, a family-run business that was not explored out of the box until 1998. Loads of opportunities back then led to a new brand called Inc.5. 

Inc5 was started in a 100 sq. ft. store keeping in mind the variety of footwear that ladies were in need of. The aim was to fulfill their comfort factor by selling them comfortable footwear that they could afford. 

All this happened during the time when a myth circulated among people that there cannot be both fashion and comfort combined with respect to the footwear that women wore. This myth was busted with the advent of Inc.5. 

It all restarted in Heera Panna Shopping Center in Mumbai only to spread over to the whole nation with 54 exclusive stores across India.

VKC Footwear

VKC Group ventured into a Hawai Sheet manufacturing unit in 1984, and in 1986, Hawai straps were introduced into the production line. The first product from them was launched in the market 

Was VKC hawai with an initial production of 600 pairs per day. This eventually grew multifold with 5000 pairs a day by 1989 and by 1996 it was increased to 17000 pairs.

Rigid Polyvinyl Chloride (RPVC) footwear was started by them in Kerala. This revolutionary footwear got very good acceptance from the public when it was thrown open to the public in 1987. Within a few years, the demand grew by more than 80 numbers in this region.

SKO

The London settled investment banker Nishant Kanodia had the dreams of going back to the roots. He decided to quit his 13-year-old job, continue his family footwear business that was over 30 years old and become an entrepreneur. When he realized that the domestic segment as a whole was fragmented, he tried to fill this gap especially in the boutique footwear space, since there was a lack of aesthetic when it came to footwear in India.

What he started then was sourcing premium quality raw materials a concentrating on the following qualities of footwear:

• Durability
• Comfort
• Design

He further invested in the business to bring out luxury footwear labels with Scandinavian design aesthetics of clean looks and minimalism.

Red Tape

Redtape is a brand owned by Mirza international, which is into both manufacturings of leather and leather products. This has resulted in the division of the company into two segments:

• Tannery Division, engaged in the manufacturing of finished leather from Raw Hides, Wet Blue and Crust
• Shoe Division, engaged in manufacturing finished leather shoes

They are into the exports of tanned leather, white-label footwear, and branded footwear.

Apart from Red Tape, they have another brand known in the name Oaktrak. 

While Red Tape is into the manufacturing of footwear; apparel, including shirts, jackets, denim, tees, pants/shorts, and accessories, such as belts, socks, and wallets, Oaktrak is into the manufacturing of both formal and urban styles serving mobile executives and businessmen.

Lakhani

Lakhani was started in 1966 and was a household name till the advent of international brands like Nike, Puma, and Adidas. Lakhani lost its market share to these international markets until the intervention of Mayank Lakhani, the second-generation entrepreneur. 

It was not operational for three years from 2010 when the whole world had entered a new trend in the footwear industry. However, this did not stop Mayank from revamping the family business in 2014, with a borrowed capital of Rs. 1 Lakh. 

This is when he started Lakhani Infinity Footcare Pvt. Ltd. in Sahibabad, Uttar Pradesh, knowing the essentials of the footwear Business, inculcated in him from childhood.

Hitz

Being a part of Popsons International, Hitz is known for its unparalleled comfort, international styles, and high quality. From 1990, when it was launched till date, it has become one with hi-fashion and lifestyle, gaining the highest level of trust. 

They use high-quality material that has been a very important reason for their growth. In addition to that their contemporary and trendy designs have contributed to the same. 

They have their own website from where customers can get the footwear shipped free of cost, along with free easy returns and secure payments. All in all, they are a brand that has grown with technology.

Provogue

During their inception in Mumbai, they were a menswear fashion brand for contemporary clothing. Over a period of time, they have entered and expanded their collection to women’s fashion apparel.

Besides being the apparel sponsors of the Indian Cricket League, they were also kit sponsors for Rajasthan Royals in 2015. 

As of 2014, they had expanded their products to the following:

• Lower Garment
• Upper Garment
• Shoes
• Accessories

Action

Soon after they started as a group of shoe companies they were widely accepted in the Indian market and held a great share in the shoe market. This went on to become so big that at one point in time Sachin Tendulkar was the brand Ambassador. 

After their success in the shoe business, they spread to other fields like:

• Steel
• Chemicals
• Computer monitors
• Housing projects
• Health care
• Retails

Their growth in most of these fields is humungous and fast. This is how they have named their business under the Action Group of companies.

• Action Shoes
• Action Ispat
• Action Chemicals
• Action Tesa
• Action Retail
• Microtek Inverters
• Pioneer Flex
• Suncity Projects

Ruosh

Though the name looks like a posh English name, the roots of the name are credited to Sanskrit. Yes, Roush is an Indian brand started by Indians and the meaning of this Sanskrit word is Passion.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Sara Suole is the known name behind this brand. They, being the Indian footwear exporter were exporter their footwear to the below brands:

• Clarks
• Steve Madden 
• Kenneth Cole
• Gabor
• Cole Haan

With so much experience piling up as days go by, it’s quite natural for any company to start their own brand, which is what they did and the rest is history, as they manufacture great shoes.

HRX

Lots of celebrities have started their brands with their experience. Similarly, this is one such brand that was started by the lead actor Hrithik Roshan, making it the first of its kind celebrity-owned brand in India. Hrithik started this brand along with co-founder Afsar Zaidi who is a part of Exceed Entertainment. 

HRX focuses on 

• Active
• Fitness
• Lifestyle related products 

and draws heavily from Hrithik’s work ethic, his incredible story of overcoming various setbacks, and of course, his identity as one of the most stylish actors in Bollywood.

Buckaroo

The name of the brand derived from a Spanish term, meaning ‘Cowboy’, originates from the resilient yet comfortable nature of the footwear manufactured, making them one of the leading fashion casual footwear brands in India.

It has a wide variety of casual footwear designs. A brand created by Savla Western Lifestyle LLP, a fashion company that is privately held and has laid a strong foundation over the last two decades.

Wrogn

When the three opportunities 

1. Joining her family in their business
2. Start a business on her own
3. Be a part of a corporate firm

were thrown upon her after her postgraduation in the US, she chose the second option of becoming an entrepreneur, starting her own company called Collectabillia when she was just in her final year of college.

With her family contacts with celebrities, she took the advantage of branding the products using them. 

The idea of merchandising was her exposure to the US market where it was a big one. These were the reasons for her to start all the brands that she owns and one of them is Wrogn, whose partner is Virat Kohli.