The Council for Leather Exports has requested the government to extend the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) to the leather, leather products and footwear sector, Israr Mecca, Regional Chairman - Council for Leather Exports, Southern Region said.
“PLI will be a game changer for the industry and will help in attracting domestic and overseas investments.” he said via a video conference that was organized to announce about the upcoming exhibition – SHOETECH.
The Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers Association (IFCOMA) and the Indian Shoe Federation (ISF) will be organising SHOETECH, an exhibition on the leather and footwear industry on July 22 and 23 in Vellore.
During the event J. Suresh Kumar, Director, Country Manager of Clarks India Services Pvt. Ltd, spoke about the challenges faced by the industry. “Among the key challenges India needs to tackle are its lack of infrastructure for components manufacture to cope up with global demands, a shortage of sole mould shops and the need to have a bigger pool of competent talent. Addressing these promptly would raise the profile of India in this unprecedented time for the sourcing market,” he said.
Moin Zainullauddin, Director-Sourcing , Skechers South Asia Pvt Ltd, said, “For Skechers, we see the supply of Polyurethane (PU) as a possible constraint. It is encouraging to see material and component manufacturers eager to produce required product for Sports shoes in India itself, but we need to match the technology / quality standards to brand’s requirement which is again a challenge.”
Habib Hussain, President, Indian Shoe Federation, appreciated the Tamil Nadu Government for declaring Ambur as an export hub for leather footwear. Sanjay Gupta, President of Indian Footwear Components Manufacturers Association, said that IFCOMA has sought help from the government to conduct a component sector survey and explore the possibility of joint ventures with Spanish, Taiwanese and Italian companies for specific components that are presently being imported. “We also seek support in terms of the Integrated Leather Development Scheme (IDLS) by way of subsidy on plant and machinery,” he said.
SHOETECH Vellore will have 98 exhibitors and 119 stalls and around 1,000 visitors are expected from within and outside India. International brands like Clarks, Marks & Spencers, Timberland and Kickers France are among the brands / buyers who will be attending.
