New Delhi – India’s largest PU-based footwear brand VKC Group has launched a new product line under the brand name Debongo. The range includes shoes, sandals, sliders, apparel, bags and accessories.
‘The move is in line with expanding the product range, besides responding to the changing market dynamics where focus is on sporty as well as fashion footwear,’ said the company’s chairman, Abdul Razak. Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has been signed up to promote the brand.
VKC is also considering further expansion in the domestic market. This may involve setting up a new plant, although it has already started to increase capacity in some of its existing sites. ‘We have a board meeting scheduled in the next month to take final decision on expansion in the domestic and overseas market,’ Razak said.
It has annual turnover of about INR21bn ($269m), with production sites spread around the country and installed capacity to produce more than 500,000 pairs/day. It also has factories in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, each with a daily capacity of 10,000 pairs.
Elsewhere, the company has ceased production in Khartoum, Sudan. Its wholly owned company there came online in 2018, and had the capacity to produce 10,000 pairs/day. The lingering political stalemate in Sudan has led to a stagnating business environment, and may have been the major factor behind the decision.
However, the company is still keen on staying in the African market, and is set to announce a move into another country, according to Razak. ‘We are zeroing in on two countries and we will announce a foray in one of them in the next quarter,’ he said. The company declined to name the countries. It is also considering other options, including a joint venture with a local partner, or setting up another wholly owned subsidiary.
