Metro Brands To Focus On Sports And Athleisure For Expansion, Says CEO

Metro Brands Ltd. aims to tap into the growth prospects in the Indian market with a focus on sports and athleisure, according to Chief Executive Officer Nissan Joseph. During the first quarter of the current fiscal, the footwear and accessories speciality retailer added 17 stores to its network, setting a target of 100 new stores for the full year.

"When we speak about our core brands—Metro, Mochi, and Walkway—I would say our penetration is minuscule. Metro has about 300 stores, and for a country as vibrant and big as India, 300 stores is nothing. Mochi has 200 stores, while Walkway has 60. For each of the brands independently, the penetration leaves us with a large, wide open space for us to continue expanding," he said.

The company will open its first Foot Locker store in the third quarter as part of the licensing agreement with the New York-based athletic retailer brand. Sport and athleisure products presently contribute 15–25% of Metro's business.

"Today, from a consumption point of view, India consumes about 1.4 shoes per capita. As that grows, we also see most of that growth coming from sports and athleisure. There's also going to be a casualisation of footwear. People are seeking comfort more, and the good news is Metro plays to that," Joseph said.

Metro Brands has kept its focus on physical stores over the e-commerce business, and the strategy is unlikely to change anytime soon. Online business presently contributes around 10% of the company's total revenue.

Joseph emphasised that he did not see e-commerce taking over the business from the physical stores.

“We look at the trend globally; we have not seen anywhere e-commerce take on brick and mortar; in fact, we have seen a resurgence of brick and mortar post-Covid,” he said.

Joseph added that while the company is concentrating on expanding its e-commerce presence, it is targeting typical growth rates.

"I am not keen on growing at any rate other than the normal rate simply because, as you know, the e-commerce space tends to be a little discounted, and that's a game that Metro doesn't typically like to play in," he said.

Metro Brand reported a year-on-year decline in its revenue and profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The company's revenue was marginally lower at Rs 576 crore compared to Rs 583 crore in the previous year. The profit fell 2% to Rs 92 crore in the June quarter from Rs 94 crore in the same period a year ago.