Indian Shoe care Industry

ichaudhary

New member
SHOE CARE INDUSTRY:

Introduction:

The shoe care market includes a wide range of individual products which are used by consumers to clean, polish, care for, change the color of, make more comfortable, or otherwise extend the life of various forms of footwear, including shoes and boots made from leather, suede or synthetic materials, as well as training/sports/casual footwear.

Segmentation:

The three main categories of shoe care products are as follows:
(a) Chemical products: Comprising polishes of various types (pastes, liquids, creams etc), desalters, color changers/dyes, soaps and shampoos, deodorizers
(b) Insoles: Comprising inserts to improve the fit or comfort of footwear, to provide an anti-slip action
(c) Accessories: Comprising shapers, laces, brushes, dusters.

**Note: Although these products are available in the global market their penetration in India has been very meager.

Demand for shoe polish products has been stagnant, one reason being a switch from formal leather shoes to other non maintenance material shoes, another being reduced interest on the part of consumers in the appearance of their shoes. Overall demand is relatively insensitive to price, and because the products are an infrequent purchase, and the items are comparatively low-priced, consumers tend not to shop around or be sensitive to differences in price between retail outlets.


This report examines the Indian market for applied shoe care products, and in particular the market for a range of products which we describe as shoe polish products.

It covers the following topics:
• The range of applied shoe care and shoe polish products available within India
• Consumer demand
• Brand loyalty and advertising in the market for shoe polish products
• The size and structure of the market for shoe polish products markets
• Competition and industry pricing.

**Note: The market for applied shoe care and shoe polish products is small in comparison with many other consumer products and one on which there is limited published information available.

Shoe polish products:
Shoe polishes may be in the form of wax pastes, creams, liquids, gels or impregnated sponges or cloths and may be supplied in various sizes and forms of container for e.g. Metal tins and plastic containers.

For any given color, these products perform essentially the same function of cleaning and restoring the surface finish of footwear, usually giving a gloss or shine to leather shoes. They are therefore clearly substitutes for each other at the level of the individual consumer.

Some products, for example white cleaners (or whiteners) for white casual or sports shoes, and some aerosols, are not strictly polishes as such but nonetheless perform a similar function in maintaining the surface finish of particular types of footwear.


Whiteners and liquid shoe polish products are both produced using essentially the same type of chemical mixing, filling-line and packaging equipment.

In contrast, paste shoe polish products and aerosol products require different types of filling-line equipment. The manufacturing technology used to produce the various types is different

Function:
Some of the functions which need to be performed by shoe care products can be summarized as
• Remove Grass stains, Grease, Oil, Food, Tar, Dust, Paint
• Bring Shine
• Restore Gloss
• Improve the life of the footwear by nourishing the material

Types of shoe polish products:

1. Paste shoe polishes: They are supplied in small circular metal tins (usually containing 20 ml of wax paste). They are the longest-established and most traditionally used of the various types of shoe polish products. They are available in a relatively limited range of colors (e.g. black, brown, grey and neutral) and need to be applied with brushes or cloths. We found out that many consumers regard tinned paste shoe polishes as rather messy and inconvenient to use.

**Note: Nonetheless, as seen out of total sales these products account for a larger percent per cent (source- from kirana stores).

2. Liquid shoe polishes: They are often supplied in 75 ml plastic containers. They are generally regarded as being cleaner and easier or simply more convenient to use than paste products. Although usually more expensive to buy per container or pack, liquid shoe polishes, sponges and impregnated cloth products have become more popular with consumers in recent years.

**Note: Liquid shoe polishes account for a lesser per cent by value of the total sales of shoe polish products.

3. Cream shoe polishes: Supplied in both glass jars and plastic or metal tube. They also tend to be sold at a higher price to the consumer than paste in tins.


4. Whiteners: They are used for white shoes, usually for casual or sports wear. Whiteners account for a small per cent of total sales of shoe polish products. Aerosols and pump action sprays are used mostly for cleaning suede or Nubuck shoes or as a waterproofed.

Primary Research Findings:
Primary research spanned a variety of segments and was primarily done to understand the key aspects affecting the shoe care market
Primary Research from Shoe shop Owners:
1. The various Shoe type material available in the market are
• Leather
• Canvass
• Smooth leather
• Suede
• Nubuck
• Nylon mesh

2. The various footwear available in the markets are:
• Maujri
• Athletic
• Skets
• Sandals
• Floaters
• Casual wear
• Slippers
• Sportswear
• Outdoor
• Hiking and trekking
• Formal wear

3. Broadly in India there are 2 types of shoe care:
• Wax polish
• Liquid polish

4. The top brands in India according to Ac Neilson based research on sales in 2005:

• Cherry blossom rich shine Wax polish (Reckitt)
• Kiwi Wax polish (Sara lee)
• Cherry blossom rich shine Liquid polish (Reckitt)
• Kiwi classic instant Liquid Polish (Sara lee)
• Cherry blossom leather guard Wax polish (Reckitt)

**Note: This clearly shows that the market leader is Cheery (which is also seen from the questionnaire further down)

5. Leather industry is shifting to the non leather industry which is keeping in with the current trends and fashions. They are maintenance free and require no shoe care.

6. Occasion when people shop most often: (In order of prefence)
• Diwali and Id
• Discounts season
• They are April-March (Because of the market trends)
• Sep-Dec is the other peak season due to the festival season
• January and June are off-season
• Semi planned purchase

Note: We found out that other shopping seasons like New Year and Christmas do not attract a major footfall

7. Key drivers for choice of footwear:
• Road Shops – the fashion trends and synchronism with their apparels and comfort ability.
**Note:No one asks for shoe care.
• Branded Shops – Comfort ability and then fashion trends.


Primary Research from local shops storing shoe care products:

1. Local pan bidi shop: Stocked Cherry wax polish (black, brown) and liquid. Sale of wax once every 15-20 days Sale of wax more than sale of liquid polishes. Distributor visits every week.
2. Local retailer – Dadar Station: Stocks wax and liquid polish (both Kiwi and Cherry brand, liquids as well as wax). Sale of Cherry more than Kiwi Sale of a wax polish everyday
3. Railway Station Platform – 10-17 shoe polishers on each platform. Around 15 customers daily. Use home made wax polish and cream to polish shoes. Cycle – wax replenished everyday, cream every three days Customers men and a few school going kids

Observations:

Some crucial observation in addition

1. There were few, if any, generally perceived quality differences: a tin of black polish, for example, would not be thought of as having any particularly high or low quality but merely as being useful in cleaning black shoes.
2. What most of the students look out for is time convenience and are not price conscious as it is an infrequent purchase
3. They do not lay a major stress on the packaging but the handling and designing
4. Girls do not find any need and requirement to polish their sandals but usually do just use a cloth or home remedies
5. A very striking observation that has been made is that although that the shoe market is increasing the shoe care market has been stagnant



Comparative case study of the Tea industry

The Tea Industry

• Sloping down
• Increasing demand and popularity of coffee
• Assumed to be a low status symbol
• Increased consumption of soft drink
• Changing teen/ middle age people consumption behavior due to western influence (Psychographics)
• Increasing focus on health drinks
• Coffee bar culture (Barista, Mocha, CCD)

What did the Tea industry do?

• Introduction of new ways of tea consumption thru new products (ice tea, cha bars – passion my cup tea)
• Repositioning as a healthy drink as well as a drink for all ages
• As a refreshment positioned
• Heavy indirect promotions ( Taj Musical performance )
• Introduction of Instant tea dips
• Globalization; increased mergers and acquisitions
• Differentiation in flavor of tea

The Shoe Laundry Concept

Key observations

• Services leather shoes and sports shoes, worn out shoes
• Price Range Rs. 50-200 for leather

The Shoe Laundry shops have tied up with five-star hotels and specialty hospitals as these places maintain high levels of hygiene. People who visit these places want to follow prescribed norms and therefore, there are a lot of customers who want to get their sneakers washed. Shoe laundries have also approached gyms, sports shops and health clubs. There are 38 sports shop shoes in Mumbai which have tied up with these laundries. (Sources Linking road Adidas Shoe owner )
The Shoe Laundry is a specialty service, which offers a cleaning and repair service for expensive as well as those sports shoes. People do have the perception that the logic that professional maintenance extends the life of a product holds true for a shoe also.
The general attitude is that people spend thousands on buying sneakers, but not a single rupee is spent to maintain them. The Shoe Laundry gets an average of 15-20 pairs of shoes a day.

Advantages:

• A shoe laundry offers free home delivery service at no extra cost and can reach all parts of the city.
• The cleaning process involves detergents and disinfectants. Every shoe goes through a stitch-by-stitch inspection followed by a hand wash, assisted with a motorised scrubber. Several rinses later, the shoe is ready to be disinfected, after which it is dried by natural evaporation and ventilation.
• The other advantage it has is that it offers repair facilities, which include replacing insoles and worn out laces.
• The pick up and delivery service

Suggestion:

Major costs involved are picking and delivery costs which forms almost 50 per cent of the total cost. In order to overcome this is the delivery service can be outsourced, which will bring down the cost considerably.
 

rosstaylor

New member
Shoes market is one of the fastest developing sectors in India and India holds 2nd position amongst the biggest worldwide manufacturer of footwear after China country. Reebok, Nike, Fila, Puma, Lacoste etc.
 
Shoe care goes hand in hand. If you do not have the accessories then you won't be able to lustre your shoes. Shoe care industry is growing because of the Shoe industry. Both Shoe care industry and Shoe company goes hand in hand and they are directly proportional to each other.
 

bbharathh

New member
Shoe care Industry will be profitable because of changing people life. More than seventy five percent of Indians wear shoes even woman's are wearing Shoes so their will be huge profits in future too.

The growth of the modern living has totally changing, even children lifestyle goes totally different comparing to olden days, so its easy to make profits from shoe care Industry.
 
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