Metro Brands is one of the largest Indian footwear speciality retailers, and is among the aspirational Indian brands in the footwear category. It opened its first store under the Metro brand in Mumbai in 1955, and has since evolved into a one-stop shop for all footwear needs, by retailing a wide range of branded products for the entire family including men, women, unisex and kids, and for every occasion including casual and formal events. The company retail footwear under its own brands of Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Da Vinchi and J. Fontini, as well as certain third-party brands such as Crocs, Skechers, Clarks, Florsheim, and Fitflop, which complement its in-house brands. These brands have a pan-India appeal across regions. It also offers accessories such as belts, bags, socks, masks and wallets, at its stores. It also retail footcare and shoe-care products at its stores through its joint venture, M.V. Shoe Care, making it a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all footwear and related accessories to its customers.

The company endeavour to drive its sales through a strong focus on product assortment – a Theory-of-Constraints (TOC) method for its supply chain, offering greater availability and reducing stock-outs. This is coupled with an incentive-based remuneration system for its front-end and backend sales staff. The company operates on an asset light model with third-party manufacturing through long-standing vendor relationships, optimum store size and layout, and long-term lease arrangements. It introduces new designs frequently through its vendor engagements based on its combined understanding of prevailing trends and regional sensitivity. To efficiently manage inventory for its wide range of products, it follow a pull model for product availability at its stores where product placement is led by a demand driven inventory replenishment method. This helps it ensure optimum inventory management and accessibility to the latest products.

Business area of the company

The company is one of the largest Indian footwear speciality retailers, and is among the aspirational Indian brands in the footwear category.

Key awards, accreditations or recognitions

• 2011: ‘Emerging Retailer of the Year’ award at the ET Retail Awards by The Economic Times.
  
• 2012: ‘Retailer of the Year (Footwear Non Apparel)’ award at the Asian Retail Leadership Awards.
  
• 2013: ‘Most Popular Youth Brand (footwear)’ award at the Global Youth Marketing Awards.
  
• 2014: ‘Footwear Brand with Outstanding e-Retail Performance’ at the Indian e-Retail Awards by Franchise India.
  
• 2015: ‘Most Admired Multi-Brand Footwear Retail Chain of the Year - Metro” at the India Shoes and Accessories Awards.
  
• 2016: ‘Most Admired Multi-Brand Retail Chain of the Year - Mochi’ at the India Shoes and Accessories Awards.
  
• 2017: ‘Footwear Retailer of the Year’ award at the 12th Annual Star Retailer Awards.
  
• 2017: ‘Shining Star Commercial Partner of the Year 2017’ award received by our store at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi at the GMR Airport Awards 2017 by the GMR Group.
  
• 2017: ‘Most Preferred Woman’s Brand’- 4th World Women Leadership Congress Awards by Femina.
  
• 2018: ‘Retailer of the Year (Non-Apparel / Footwear)’ at the ET Global Awards for Retail Excellence by ET Now.
  
• 2019: ‘Family Business of the Year - Emerging Companies’ award by The Economic Times.
  
• 2021: ‘Best Footwear Brand 2021’ award at the India’s Retail Champions Awards, supported by the Retailers Association of India.
  

Major events and milestones

• 1977: Incorporation of the Company.
  
• 2000: The Company opened the first ‘Mochi’ branded MBO.
  
• 2009: The Company launched the ‘Walkway’ format (previously ‘MSL - More Shoes for Less’).
  
• 2010: The Company launched the e-commerce platform and it reached a target of 100 stores.
  
• 2012: The Company reached a target of 200 stores.
  
• 2015: The Company tied-up with the brand ‘CrocsTM’.
  
• 2020: The Company reached a target of 550 stores.
  
• 2021: The Company tied with the brand ‘Fitflop’.