Outdoor adventure shoemaker Woodland plans to expand its reach in the overseas market, aiming to double its revenue from exports in the next 3-4 years.
Aero Club, which makes and markets the Woodland brand of shoes, plans to increase its business from exports by strengthening its presence in markets such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russia, China and the Middle East.
Eye on key markets
Speaking to
Singh further stated that the company has steady export growth and going forward, China, Russia and the Middle East will emerge as key markets for the company.
Potential overseas
“Entering into China is a big challenge. But the potential is five times more than it is in India. We are making slow but steady progress there,” he added.
Aero club produces about 3 million pairs of footwear and 2.5 million pairs of apparel at its multiple facilities in India.
It has planned an investment of ₹50-60 crore towards network expansion and partly for capacity addition.
Aero Club’s revenues for financial year 2017-18 stood at about ₹1,300 crore, in which the newly introduced Woods category of luxury footwear has 20-25 per cent share.
Upbeat on Woods
“We have seen good growth in the Woods segment, which is a premium product for men and women.We are setting up about 10 exclusive Woods outlets across the country. .” said Singh.
He stated that the GST rollout had contained growth last year, but markets have stabilised and seen upward movement during last three-four months. The company plans to add another 30-40 Woodland stores this year.
Aero Club is also gearing up to push online sales as the share of online revenue has more than double from 6 per cent three years ago to about 15 per cent now.