M&B Footwear plans to raise Rs 100 cr to scale-up in India

In a bid to fund its expansion plans, M&B Footwear, popular as the footwear licensee for Lee Cooper in India, is looking to raise up to Rs 100 crore. The scale-up plans includes opening standalone outlets and bringing in new foreign brands in the country. The Delhi-based manufacturer is also gearing up to re-enter the brick and mortar after it had shut down its stores in 2009-10 post economic slump. The brand is likely to open 150 Lee Cooper standalone stores in three years. "We are actively pursuing plans to raise about Rs 100 crore...especially to expand our retail network...we are also looking at right partners who can bring value to our business to help us grow faster," said Bhai Ajinder Singh, Managing Director, M&B Footwear. We are also exploring options of bringing in more foreign footwear brands which do not have presence in India, Ajinder added. The company has also set up a target of increasing turnover from Lee Cooper brand by 50 per cent to Rs 600 crore by 2020 as against Rs 400 crore at present. "We have been growing at a fast pace and the now the market in right for brands like Lee Cooper. We are targeting Rs 600 crore turnover from Lee Cooper by 2020," Singh said. On Expansion he said: "We already have good presence in the metro and tier I cities through multi brand outlets in retail chains like Shoppers Stop. We are looking at opening majority of these 150 stores in tier II and tier III cities." Prior to 2010, there were 200 Lee Cooper stores across the country. While M&B Footwear is the licensee for Lee Cooper footwear, homegrown retailer Future Group owns the rights to market Lee Cooper apparels.