Short winter, footwear industry in Bahadurgarh suffered Rs 2,500 cr loss

Tribune News Service

Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, March 12

Bahadurgarh footwear industry, the biggest hub of footwear in North India, has suffered an estimated loss to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore following around 25 per cent decline in the sales of footwear this winter season compared to the corresponding period last year, claims the Footwear Park Association, Bahadurgarh.

A short spell of cold, less number of weddings in November and a considerable rise in the goods and services tax (GST) are believed to be main reasons behind the fall in sales.

Over 2,000 large, medium and small-scale units associated with the footwear industry directly or indirectly were operational in Modern Industrial Estate (MIE), the HSIIDC Footwear Park and surrounding areas in Bahadurgarh town located on the border of Haryana and Delhi, while over two lakh people were employed in these factories, said sources.

“The total estimated annual turnover of the Bahadurgarh Footwear industry is around Rs 20,000 crore and more than 50 per cent comes in the winter season from October to February. Over 25 lakh pairs of shoes, sandals and slippers are manufactured in the industry every day, but the recently concluded winter season has caused a huge loss of Rs 2,500 crore to the industry following 25 per cent fall in the sales,” claimed Narendra Chhikara, senior vice-president of the Footwear Park Association, Bahadurgarh.

Chhikara maintained that for the winter season, the footwear production usually started in July and continued for the next three months for fulfilling the huge demand from October to February, but a short spell of cold this time, coupled with a few weddings in November, hit the footwear industry hard, leading to a drastic decline in the sales.

“Fashion and design play a vital role in the sale of footwear as customers do not like out-of-fashion footwear. A huge stock of shoes has remained unsold this winter season, forcing manufacturers to sell these at throwaway prices in order to get whatever they can from these. Rising inflation is also another vital factor, which makes the customers spend on footwear thoughtfully,” he pointed out.

Chhikara said last year, the GST was raised from 5 to 12 per cent on the footwear having price less than Rs 1,000 per pair, leading to a considerable rise in the rates. “High prices also took a toll on the sales so we demand the government to roll back the hike in the GST,” he added.

25% decline in sales

• A short spell of cold, less number of weddings in November and a considerable rise in goods and services tax are believed to be main reasons for around 25 per cent decline in sales this winter season
• Over 25 lakh pairs of shoes, sandals and slippers are manufactured in the industry every day
• A huge stock of shoes has remained unsold this winter, forcing manufacturers to sell these at throwaway prices

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