M&B Footwear to raise Rs 100 crore, use it for expansion

M&B Footwear, one of the fastest growing companies in the Indian footwear industry, is looking to raise up to Rs 100 crore to fund its expansion plans in the country.
The company that markets brand the Lee Cooper footwear in India plans on opening standalone outlets and bringing in new foreign brands in the country.
After shutting its stores in 2009-10 post the economic slump, the Delhi-based M&B Footwear, is gearing up to open 150 Lee Cooper standalone stores in three years.
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“We are actively pursuing plans to raise about Rs 100 crore…especially to expand out retail network…we are also looking at right partners who can bring value to our business to help us grow faster,” M&B Footwear Managing Director Bhai Ajinder Singh was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.
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“We are also exploring options of bringing in more foreign footwear brands which do not have presence in India,” he further told PTI.
The company has also set up a target of increasing turnover from Lee Cooper brand by 50 per cent to Rs 600 crore by 2020 as against Rs 400 crore at present.
“We have been growing at a fast pace and the now the market in right for brands like Lee Cooper. We are targeting Rs 600 crore turnover from Lee Cooper by 2020,” Singh told PTI.
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When asked about the company’s expansion plans, he told PTI: “We already have good presence in the metro and tier I cities through multi brand outlets in retail chains like Shoppers Stop. We are looking at opening majority of these 150 stores in tier II and tier III cities.”
Prior to 2010, there were 200 Lee Cooper stores across the country.
While M&B Footwear is the licensee for Lee Cooper footwear, homegrown retailer Future Group owns the rights to market Lee Cooper apparels.
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