Treating The World To Their Favorite Shoe

Hush Puppies entered the Indian market 20 years ago and initially positioned itself as the premium men dress footwear brand. The brand has traversed from being Men Dress brand to becoming a ‘Lifestyle footwear’ brand in the last few years, and it now offers an array of casual and multi-occasion footwear range. In an interview with S&A’s N Bobo Meitei, the brand’s Vijay Gogate said, “With increasing per capita footwear consumption and a wide variety of national and international brands operating, Indian market has become a really exciting turf to play on.” Vijay is Flagship Retail Head & Vice President-International Brands at Bata India Limited.

Since the brand entered the Indian market, how is it positioned today?

Hush Puppies entered the Indian market 20 years ago and initially positioned itself as the premium men dress footwear brand. In the last 5 years, the team has worked on the products, marketing, stores and overall customer experience to re-position it as an “International Premium Lifestyle Footwear Brand”, which is the current global brand positioning. Today, Hush Puppies is one of the largest brands in the premium lifestyle footwear space with increasing market share year on year.

How much product diversification has happened over the years?

Brand has traversed from being Men Dress brand to becoming a Lifestyle footwear brand in the last few years. The product mix varies from dress to casual, from closed to open footwear in both men’s and ladies’ segment with a strong presence in hand bags as well. It now offers an array of casual and multi occasion footwear range.

What new markets is the brand targeting? At present, where is the consumer mostly concentrated?