India is one of the biggest markets for FMCG products. The country now has several iconic brands that have become part of its culture. The footwear industry in India is huge and somewhat untapped. Until liberalisation hit our shores, India had only a couple of brands. With liberalisation, foreign companies got attracted to the Indian market. In the 2000s, Indian companies started investing in the India project, and we have several homegrown formal shoe brands that now stand equal to the international brands.
Top Ten Best Formal Shoe Brands in India
Classic Formal Shoe Brands:
Bata
Few brands have a bigger footprint in India compared to Bata. The company has been around for decades and is one of the most recognisable brands in the country. Bata has several types of footwear and were popular for school and formal shoes. The company later diversified into casual footwear. Bata has been around since the 1800s as well.
The company’s biggest hits are formal shoes and homeware, including chappals. Come monsoons, and Bata unleashes an advertising campaign that promotes its school and formal shoes. Bata’s USP is the cost of the product. You can buy Bata shoes for anything from 499 to 4999; it depends on your taste and likes. Contrary to perception, Bata is not an Indian brand.
Hush Puppies
Hush Puppies is a rare but also one of the most comfortable brands in India. Earlier, Hush Puppies were available only at Bata outlets, but other retailers now sell Hush Puppies. Hush Puppies is an American brand and has been around in India for decades now. It is also one of the fastest-selling shoes in America. In the sixties, one in ten males owned a Hush Puppy pair of shoes.
Hush Puppies in India piggy-backed on its reputation back in the US and has become one of the most popular brands in the country. Salespeople in India will tell you that these shoes are a guaranteed sale with the older generation, who want comfortable, everyday shoes that look classy.
Alberto Torresi
Alberto Torresi brand is an exclusive one, and you won’t find many shops stocking it. The stock is mainly seen in high-profile malls and is available at a premium price. The owner of the brand is a shoe manufacturer brand from Agra.
Pelle Santino
Pelle Santino is one of the few foreign names that originate from the West. Several brands in India have foreign-sounding names but local, Indian companies own them. Santino is an American company and one of the more famous shoe brands in India. The product is available only in the upmarket retailers of formal shoes and footwear.
Lee Cooper
Lee Cooper started in India as a rugged shoe brand. When the jeans culture started in India, Lee Cooper became the shoe-to-buy with your pair of jeans. But along the way, Lee Cooper has formal shoes in the fray as well – and they have the same unbeatable quality that their semiformal and rugged shoes have. Lee Cooper is an international brand since the 1900s. They have, in their inventory, shoes, lower wear, upper wear and accessories.
Clarks
Clarks is an unassuming brand, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a massive following. You will see this brand in almost every mall and shop, and the brand stands toe to toe with the biggest ones – including the ones on this list. Again, Clarks is one of the oldest brands, and they began their business in the 1800s.
Woodland
Another brand that became highly popular in the nineties was Woodland. Woodland was everywhere where the customer with a refined taste would go to buy. Even they started as a rugged brand. Since then, they have had all kinds of footwear – including formal wear and casual wear. Woodland is an international brand. Though it doesn’t have the classic dress shoes, Woodland offers several other options, like boat shoes, sneakers and ‘slip on’ that can pass off as formal shoes.
Newer Formal Shoe Brands:
Red Tape
Red Tape came a bit later in the market and is a premium brand that is also one of the costliest in the market. The brand gained popularity post-liberalisation, and everyone recognises it as a youth-oriented, stylish brand. Contrary to general perception, Red Tape is an Indian brand that became famous in the nineties and has become an international brand.
Red Tape became famous for its bold styles and designs that catered to the young, hep crowd. When it first hit the market in India, it was the ultimate mix of quality and design. During that time, the only major formal shoe player in the market was Bata, and Red Tape’s product designs were a far cry from the staid ones that Bata offered during that time.
Bridlen
Bridlen is one of the newer companies and was formed in the year 1986. However, the company’s growth has been tremendous, and you will see their products in most of the malls of the country. The brand regards their unique stitching process as the Goodyear stitching process.
Sparx
One of the few brands that are hitting higher than its weight is Sparx. The company started just a decade or so ago, but has captured the imagination of the young crowd. Today, their fastest selling products are canvas shoes and floaters, but they have created an indelible mark in the customer’s mind – and space in the retail shop. They have a range of formal shoes, that’s just waiting to capture the market from the big players. Sparx is currently a brand to watch out for, and a success story in the making. They started with the humble canvas shoe segment – which was becoming popular with the youth and the content creators and has today captured the suburban market in the country.
These are the top shoe brands in India. Shoes are becoming one of the products that are selling online. Very few people believe that they can buy the perfect shoe only if they choose the fit themselves. That’s also because the top shoe companies in India have successfully created a consistent quality and look that the customers are comfortable with and believe.
What Makes a Top Shoe Brand?
Shoes might be the most intimate wear for a person after innerwear. Some might also consider the shoe to be much more than an accessory. That’s because shoes aren’t just fashion statements, but they must also ensure good support and comfort for the feet. Here are some aspects that make the top shoe brands reign at the top:
Variety:
There are several shoe styles, one that fits every occasion. So, it becomes necessary for the shoe company to make several designs of shoes. The more the variety, the more options the customer has, thereby creating great experiences for them.
Comfort:
The lesser shoe companies sacrifice comfort for style or vice versa. The top shoe companies offer both and thereby become somewhat of a family brand. The fit and the comfort are the only two reasons why some people still don’t buy their shoes online.
Designs:
In this list, some formal shoe brands captured the market’s attention by offering something that wasn’t in the market. While Woodland created a whole new segment of quality, rugged shoes, Red Tape created a segment of uber fashionable shoes in the nineties. Of course, the brand got help with bigger brands like Lee Cooper making a splash in the market and some great branding.
Value for Money:
The cost of shoe matters, but if the shoe offers the perfect combination of style and comfort, people won’t have any issues paying a premium. People tend to buy shoes that offer value for money and don’t decide to buy a cheap shoe or an expensive shoe. As the say goes, ‘as long as the shoe fits, everything will be fine.’
All of these formal shoe brands are available online as well as with retailers. Each of these brands has a story – but the one chord that keeps them together is the ultimate comfort that they offer to their clients. These products are premium, so you will get great deals on them when the sales begin. In Mumbai, several shoe retailers have started their brands, which are pretty famous all over the country. Brands like Metro have been around for years in Mumbai and are today available all over the country.
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