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Metro Shoes repositions itself to cater to youth

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MUMBAI: There was a time when people were happy to own a pair or two of shoes, at the most three. Not any more…

 

With fierce competition among domestic footwear retailers and newer international footwear brands setting shop in the country, not to mention a heightened sense of brand consciousness, customers today are having a field day in terms of the sheer number and variety of shoes available in the market.

 

So much so, Metro, one of India’s oldest footwear brands, conducted research and found that a majority of its loyalists were 30+ year olds. In a bid to increase its target audience and stay ahead of the competition, Metro has now repositioned itself to provide ‘Shoes for a new race’. The brand believes that with changing times, it needs to change in order to stay relevant to its target audience.

 

Says Metro Shoes MD and CEO Malik Bhanji: “Since India is a young country, it is imperative that the new positioning of Metro Shoes resonates with the attitude of the youth. The new race doesn’t necessarily believe in following age-old norms; they believe in creating their own. To build a connect with this consumer, we have launched a campaign that twists conventional ideologies, giving them a new meaning.”

 

Adds Metro Shoes marketing manager Lavina Rodrigues Pinto: “Through our research, we found out that our loyalists are 30+ olds but we wanted to increase our TG. Hence, we thought of repositioning ourselves to be more relevant to today’s youth.”

 

The refresh isn’t just about a new brand philosophy. Metro has tweaked its product mix to match the attitude and spunk of the younger generation it caters to. “Youngters aren’t scared of experimenting and hence, we have used bold and contemporary designs,” elaborates Pinto.

 

A budget of Rs 20 crore has been assigned to the repositioning exercise and a 360-degree marketing plan has been launched with outdoor as the main focus for shoe retails.

 

However, two celebrities who’ve been closely associated with Metro thus far – actors Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan – won’t be the faces of this campaign. Asked why, Pinto clarifies: “Earlier, even though we were a 100+ store chain in the country, people saw us as a neighbourhood store. Hence, we needed to reach out more and give the brand a pan-national feel. In three years, these two actors helped us achieve that, and now we want to move on and make the youth the face of our brand.”

 

Coming to international brands, although Metro sees competition in companies such as Nine West and Charles & Keith, the brand believes these have only helped Indian brands become more customer-friendly.

 

Citing the example of how well Fastrack (Indian watches brand) has done, Pinto says: “Yes, today’s generation is more exposed to international brands but if an Indian brand too has an aspirational value attached to it, then there is nothing to worry.”

 

“Also, we mustn’t forget that even today, fashion is very regionally sensitive in India. For example, we sell more heels in Chandigarh while more flats are sold in Chennai. As an Indian brand, we have an advantage to understand this, unlike the international counterparts,” she adds.

 

Metro’s expansion plans are very much on track with 16 stores opened this year and plans to open another 20 across the country. The brand also plans to be more aggressive in the e-commerce sector. “We had an online site four years ago but weren’t very aggressive on it but now, as more and more people are getting comfortable with the medium, we will be going the whole hog,” rounds off Pinto.

 

Brands

Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

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Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

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Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

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Bengaluru:  Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.

The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.

The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.

Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.

To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.

Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.

Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.

The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.

The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.

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TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform

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NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.

The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.

The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.

Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.

Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.

TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.

 

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