Kids Footwear Industry

Footwear production in India has been majorly propagated through manual and semi-mechanized processes. India kids’ footwear market comprises of footwear products made up of leather, rubber, fabric, canvas, EVA, synthetic and other materials. The kids’ footwear industry has been considered as one of the most steadily growing segments in the country.

Kids’ footwear industry has been largely an unorganized one. Products manufactured by local players are much in demand due to their lower costs. Higher bargaining and lower prices for the customers have provided a boost to the dominance of the unorganized sector.

Factors driving growth of kids’ footwear (India and Global): 

1. Increasing product customization, innovation, affordable pricing of children footwear products is driving the market growth of kids’ footwear across the globe. 

2. Growing influence of social media and celebrities on children and their parents has encouraged children’s footwear industry to evolve with changing trends.

3. Much of the growth in children’s footwear has also come from increases in average selling price. 

4. Growing influence of foreign culture and the emergence of kids as an independent buyer group is likely to boost the demand of footwear in upcoming years. 

5. Other factors include growing exposure leading to parents and children being more fashion conscious and higher number of double income parents leading to higher household incomes.

Emergence of e-commerce in kids’ footwear Industry: E-commerce, with all of its permutations and combinations, is touted to deliver something not otherwise available through the brick-and-mortar retail. Footwear is one such category where this is very much the case. A kids’ footwear store requires a larger inventory space as shoes meant for kids typically come in more sizes and shapes compared to an apparel product. Physically keeping it stocked inside the store every time gets very difficult.

Also, today both parents are working and for them, every minute counts. Today’s busy parents are thus turning to online shopping for practical reasons. E-commerce offers a convenient and quick shopping experience. Everything from page loading to product purchasing is a painless process.

There were also fewer brick-and-mortar stores earlier, with the kids’ footwear segment shifting base majorly to popular e-commerce portals. The infusion of e-commerce in footwear segment has today become a mainstream for a lot of retailers in this space.

Challenges faced in the kids’ footwear market: For the kids’ shoe brands in India, the market is much more competitive now as compared to earlier days. With the launch of numerous international and even local brands, the challenges for kids’ footwear brands have risen.

1. The biggest challenge is the ever changing market and consumer behaviour, we have to continually understand what the consumer needs and evolve. 

2. With GST coming in, there is a streamlining of systems and processes across the industry. This is affecting players in the unorganized market, it is also decreasing the barriers to entry for any new brand entering the market (national or international).

3. Increasingly impatient fashion consciousness requires any brand in this industry to become very responsive to changing fashion trends. So, decreasing lead time from suppliers and quicker inventory turns is an exciting new challenge.

4. There is also increasing scarcity of premium retail space available in strategic areas. 

5. Also, there are certain challenges for Indian shoes and leather brands like acceptance as per the current fashion and market trends, the seasonal challenges at rainy season.

Conclusion: The only way out is to keep evolving and experimenting for giving the best to the patrons. Focus some of your store's marketing efforts on promotional discounts or special promotions, or send each parent away with a coupon to use on the next purchase.