Leather Fashion - Walking Towards Retail Convergence

As some consumer shifts seem here to stay, pandemic or no pandemic, leather fashion and lifestyle brands are equipping themselves with the requisite infrastructure for a future in which physical and digital worlds will converge

- Sandeep Kumar

The leather footwear and accessories segment in India has undoubtedly witnessed massive expansion and growth over the past two decades, and as a result, the sector has transitioned itself from a primary supplier of raw materials to a value-added exporter of leather and leather goods with large-scale relevance in the global market. As per ASSOCHAM, the Indian leather industry accounts for nearly 13 per cent of the world’s leather production, with India being ranked second in the world in the production of leather footwear. With a market share of 3.3 per cent, the country is the eighth largest exporter of leather footwear in the world, and is ranked second and third respectively for the export of leather garments and saddlery, making the leather sector one of India’s top ten foreign exchange-earners.

In the last five years, many international brands forayed into the Indian market and despite their high price points, have made a space of their own. Apart from the international players, domestic footwear majors have also made huge inroads.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last year has delivered extreme challenges for the industry. As per Council of Leather Exports, the pandemic has led to a decline of more than 35 per cent in the export orders. Tamil Nadu alone has lost export orders worth USD 370 million (₹2800 crore) due to unilateral cancellation of export orders by buyers, as against loss of export orders to the tune of USD 1 billion (₹7600 crore) at all India level. Due to the series of lockdown and restrictions, buyers have put-on-hold shipments, leading to losses worth crores.