Metro Brands Ltd

History of Metro Brands Ltd

Metro Brands Limited was originally incorporated as Metro Shoes Private Limited on 19 January 1977, in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Thereafter, the company converted into a Private Limited Company and name was changed to Metro Shoes Private Limited with effect from 16 October 2002. Subsequently, the Company was again changed to Metro Shoes Limited on 21 March 2007. A fresh Certificate of Incorporation consequent to change of name was issued by the RoC on 14 May 2007. Thereafter, name of the Company was further changed to Metro Brands Limited on 06 September 2018. The Company is a retailer in fashion footwear, bags and accessories operating into premium and economy category. Metro Brands is one of the largest Indian footwear specialty retailers, and are among the aspirational Indian brands in the footwear category. The Company retails 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 and Fitflop, which complement the in-house brands. The company opened its first store under the Metro brand in Mumbai in 1955, and have 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. As of 31 March 2022, the company operated 624 Stores across 142 cities spread across 30 States and Union Territories in India. The company reta ...il footwear under its own brands of Metro, Mochi, Walkway, Da Vinchi and J. Fontini, as well as certainthird-party brands such as Crocs, Skechers, Clarks, Florsheim, and Fitflop, which complement its in-house brands.The company also offer accessories such as belts,bags, socks, masks and wallets, at its stores. The company also retail footcare and shoe-care products at its stores through the joint venture, M. V. Shoe Care Private Limited. The Company commenced business in the year 1986 with few Showrooms, and currently has showrooms in the major cities of India. During the year 2003-04, the company opened 5 new showrooms at Hyderabad, Vashi, Bangalore and Kolkata. In November 2003, the company launched 'Signatures by Metro' a premium range of footwear collections exclusively designed by the renowned Fashion Designers Rohit Bal, Manish Malhotra and Azeem Khan for the luxury fashion-conscious customers. They re-started the business after full renovations in their showroom at Abids, Hyderabad, with effect from May 28, 2004. During the year 2005-06, the company expanded their network by opening 13 new showrooms. They successfully re-started business after full renovations in their Showrooms at Pune (Deccan Gymkhana) on August 12, 2005 and Mumbai (Crawford Market) on September 13, 2005. In February 23, 2006, they celebrated their '50 Stores Opening Ceremony' in Mumbai. During the year 2006-07, the company expanded their network by opening 11 new Showrooms. They discontinued their operations in 1 showroom. They opened their first showrooms in Jalandhar, Gurgaon, and Coimbatore. In December 2006, they started their operations in Dehradun in Uttarakhand in addition to Byculla unit. During the year, the company completely renovated their Showrooms at Pune (M.G.Road), Ahmedabad (Relief Road), Surat (Bhaga Talao) and Mumbai (Linking Road). Also, they opened the renovated and expanded Showroom at Brigade Road, Bangalore which is the Largest Shoe Showroom in Bangalore. During the year, the company received a prestigious award from Franchise India, 'the Best Retailer in Footwear Category' for excellence in franchising and business development. In May 14, 2007, the company was converted back into a public limited company. During the year 2007-08, the company expanded their network by opening 14 new Showrooms. They discontinued their operations in 2 Showrooms. They opened their first showrooms in Bhopal, Calicut, Jaipur, Mangalore, Nasik, Noida and Varanasi. They renovated and expanded Showroom at Chennai (T. Nagar) and started the business during the year. During the year, the company was awarded the prestigious 'Franchise Awards' for the second consecutive year for being the best retailer in Footwear category. They were rated as one of the most powerful brands in India by 'RETAILERS' magazine in their March 2008 issue. During the year 2008-09, the company opened 7 new Showrooms in the cities of Ambala, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Vashi and Vijayawada. They opened their first showroom in the cities of Vijayawada and Ambala. They received ISO 9001-2008 certification for all their activities at their Corporate Office, Warehouse and Colaba Showroom. During the year 2009-10, the company opened 26 showrooms in the cities of Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kalyan, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, Pondicherry, Pune, & Thane. They renovated the showrooms at Oberoi Grand Arcade, Kolkata and one at Sector 17, Chandigarh. During the year, the company promoted Metmill Footwear Pvt Ltd, a 51% subsidiary of the company jointly with Sunil Shah of Millenium Marketing for taking over their footwear business in Shoppers Stop, a leading retail chain of India. The company opened new stores under the brand 'MSL'. They opened the first store in Secunderabad. During the year, 5 MSL stores opened in Aurangabad, Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Pune. The company launched E-commerce website 'www.metroshoes.net' from October 1, 2009. During the year, the company won 'Brand Leadership' Award from Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council. The company also received the 'Brand Leadership' Award in Footwear Category at World Brand Congress 2009 held at Mumbai. During the year 2010-11, the company opened 15 Showrooms in the cities of Allahabad, Amritsar, Baroda, Chennai, Bangalore, Guwahati, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Varanasi. They closed 1 store at Kakade Center Port, Pune due to closure of mall. Thus, the company expanded their number to 121 in 38 major cities. During the month of December 2021, the Company came out with an Rs 1367-crore Public Issue which comprised a fresh issue of Rs 295 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 1072 crore by the selling shareholders.The IPO shares were allotted at the price of Rs 500 per share including a premium of Rs 495 per share ans the allotted shares were listed on the BSE Ltd and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd(NSE) on 22 December 2021. In April 2022, the 1st FitFlop EBO store was launched in Chennai. It reached 600- store landmark. During FY 2022-23, the Company acquired 100% stake in Metro Athleisure Limited (MAL), which consequently was made a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company effective from December 1, 2023. The Company opened 144 new stores including relocation of 13 existing stores, which reached 739 at the end of the FY23. Company opened 118 new stores, reaching a total of 836 stores as of March 31, 2024 in its retail expansion efforts. The Company achieved remarkable growth in its e-commerce sales by strengthening the presence in the digital marketplace and transforming into an omni-channel footwear retailer. The Company launched India's first Foot Locker store at Nexus Select City Walk in New Delhi in October, 2024 in FY 2024-25. The addition of New Era Cap, LLC, not only expanded the premium portfolio but also strengthened the sports and athleisure offering within our Foot Locker stores during the year. The Company operated a network of nearly 908 stores, with the net addition of 70 during the year 2025. These additions included key formats such as Metro, Mochi, Crocs, Walkway, Foot Locker, FitFlop, and New Era kiosks, further strengthening the Company's footprint in both urban and emerging markets. Pursuant to the order of Mumbai National Company Law Tribunal effective from April 1, 2024, the FILA business was demerged into the Company.