US footwear major Skechers opens 6 lakh sq ft warehouse in Palava
American footwear giant Sketchers has opened a national distribution centre in Mumbai, India, as part of its expansion in the Indian market. The 6,00,000 sq ft facility at the Lodha Industrial and Logistics Park in Kalyan has been designed to streamline supply chain operations and can ship up to 60,000 units per day. The centre features innovative flooring for easy transportation and is the first phase of a partnership to develop a 1.1 million sq ft facility in Palava township. Sketchers entered India in 2012 and acquired full control of its joint venture in 2018.
Mumbai: American footwear giant Sketchers has opened its national distribution centre spanning over 6,00,000 sq ft at Lodha Industrial and Logistics Park at Palava township in Kalyan.
The state-of-the-art facility located close to Taloja MIDC is designed to streamline supply chain operations facilitating Skechers’ expansion of its footprint in the Indian market and enabling shipping of up to 60,000 units per day.
Lodha group said this is the first warehouse building in western India to feature Free Movement (FM1) super flat flooring which enables easy transportation of shipments and has been designed to be an IGBC Platinum pre-certified building. This is the first phase of a strategic partnership to develop a 1.1 million sq ft facility in Palava township developed by the Lodha group.
Devender Singh Rawat, CEO of Lodha’s Green Digital Infrastructure Platform (GDIP), said, “We envision this facility as a game-changer in the B2B logistics space, in line with Lodha’s dedication to empowering businesses with reliable, sustainable, and cutting-edge solutions.”
The California-based company’s top executives visited India earlier this month and indicated that India has been one of its fastest-growing markets over the past three years. David Weinberg, COO of Sketchers USA, who was in Mumbai in the first week of December, told reporters that the company was looking to bring production of footwear, apparel, and accessories for both domestic and export markets.
Skechers entered India in 2012 with a joint venture with Future Group, and in 2018, it acquired a minority stake by investing around ₹580 crore to take full control of the venture.
Lodha group has created a logistics and warehousing platform called Green Digital Infrastructure Platform (GDIP) with marquee investors like Bain Capital and Ivanhoe Cambridge. It has planned an investment of USD 1 billion to create around 30 million sq. ft. of operating assets and aims to meet global standards in technology adoption, construction standards, and ESG practices.