Indian footwear brands will incur additional manufacturing costs after the implementation of ‘Bha’, India’s first shoe sizing system.
Bha, the Indian system of measurement will be implemented in 2025. Indian footwear companies have to craft new molds or base shoes, to apply this system. It will bear additional production costs to produce footwear in India. “Companies like Bata and Metro will have to spend extra to make new molds designed to adopt this standard,” said Kalarical Janardhanan Sreeram, Director of the Central Leather Research Institute (CSLR) in Chennai.
India’s largest footmaker, Bata will have to spend Rs. 40-60 lakh to make the molds required to supplement the new sizing system, said Aarti Mehta, Brand Manager of Bata Corporation. Molds are used to shape the different parts of a shoe. They are required for male’s, female’s and kid’s shoes and they will have to produce shoes for all consumers. “This is not feasible for an European brand like Bata who has to look at domestic and international markets,” said Mehta.
Bata India Limited is the third-largest footwear brand by market cap in India, behind Metro Brands Limited and Relaxo Footwears Limited, according to data compiled by Value Research.
I receive many patients with complaints of shoe-bites, said Dr. Praveen Kumar K S, Senior Orthopedician at Kinder Hospitals, Kerala. Shoe-bites are caused by tight-fitting shoes that restrict blood flow to the foot. “This is a problem that needs consideration when developing the Indian standard for shoe sizing.”
The existing standard, based on European and American mandates, does not meet the foot requirements of Indian customers. “A size 7 shoe from Bata wouldn’t be the same as a size 7 from Liberty,” said Sreeram. Bha addresses this need with the introduction of the new standard.
Popular brands adopt the US and UK standards, which do not follow the BIS norms. The new standard may be an amendment in the current standards. We have made it mandatory for companies to follow the existing standard starting from August 1, 2024, said Govindaraju Bhavani, Senior Director and Head of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Chennai.
This comes after India is the second-largest global producer of footwear after China, contributing to 13% of global footwear production. 95% of India’s production goes to meet its own domestic demand, according to data from India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO). Bha ensures sizes catering to the needs of the Indian consumer, said Sreeram.
Bha could increase export prices for foreign brands manufacturing shoes for the second-largest consumer of footwear. “Brands abroad will have to make moulds for the Indian consumers increasing production costs,” said an official from the Indian Shoe Federation on the condition of anonymity.
Phone calls and emails to Relaxo Footwears Limited, Metro Brands Limited and Liberty Shoes Limited did not elicit a response.