Ganesh Nagarsekar’s Post

View profile for Ganesh Nagarsekar, graphic

Bharat Bet Research🐅 | IIM C, JPM, GS, CFA L3, BITS Goa

(10/40) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗮𝗹𝘀 - how do you make footwear for a billion Indians! In a small town of Bahadurgarh in Eastern Haryana, a worker begins his shift in an unassuming manufacturing plant. But this is no ordinary plant - everything in it works like clockwork, to produce a high quality chappal at an unbelievable price for the ordinary Indian! We have all worn a pair of these rubber chappals - but how are they made, and more importantly how does a business that sells these for close to 125 rupees (US$1.6) make money? 1. Crush operating costs with efficiency: Every part of the production line is built for efficiency. They have dedicated production lines for their fast moving SKUs, Maynard Operations sequencing for optimizing worker productivity, and design and moulding techniques optimized to reduce wastage. This crushes the operating cost to produce the pairs of footwear. 2. Reduce material costs with procurement scale: Ethylene vinyl acetate, polyurethane and natural rubber are the primary raw materials that go into a pair of footwear, the first two being crude derivatives and the last being naturally found. The scale at which the leader operates allows it to order large volumes consistently, helping it get natural volume discounts on its procurement. The raw material cost per pair is consistently below Rs 58 (74c) - with no one in the industry coming even close! 3. Fast moving SKUs in multi-brand outlets: These chappals then make their way to 50,000+ multi-brand outlets, which are their primary channel for sale! Despite such a wide distribution network, the fast moving nature of the company's sales ensures that the receivable cycle is consistently below one month! 4. Targeted ad spend: Since demand generation is an integral cog of the whole machine, the firm has invested heavily into its brand. As early as the 90s - the firm had Dara Singh and Ashok Kumar associated with the brand, who have now made way for the likes of Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan. Despite spending north of 70cr on ads however, the scale of the business ensures that the ad intensity is sub 4%. These four drivers of brand, distribution, cost leadership and manufacturing efficiency feed into each other as a virtuous cycle, making the firm stronger every day. With more than half the market still unorganized, and India's per capita consumption materially below global average, the Indian footwear market appears to be poised for strong growth. How do you see the sector shaping up, and which players look most promising to you? #LICreatorAccelerator LinkedIn for Creators

Pratiti Dasgupta

Ex NIIF||Building Product Folks

1y

I see the sector shaping up quite positively with a huge opportunity for growth and at the same time associated challenges. Trends can be :- a)Personalisation of choices becoming an essential part of footwear industry. As disposable income increases, and Indians move up the value chain, footwear will expand into various different segments for different use cases b)Increase in non-leather footwear segment products due to factors such as government policies banning animal slaughter in leather tanneries c)Regulatory improvements like 100 percent FDI through automatic route and nature of delicenced sector opens future routes of investment, expansion, growth and employment. d)Increased importance of B2B ecommerce marketplaces in unleashing the full capabilities of the sector. e)Omnichannel brand strategy which creates a surge in demand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Would need better clarity on the challenges though! Players I think would be Nike and Puma

To view or add a comment, sign in

Explore topics