The Leather Shoe MakerIn 1997, Leayan Global Pvt Ltd (LGPL), a part of the billion-dollar RSPL Group, launched its flagship brand 'Red Chief', with the aim of providing quality leather footwear to its customers and today 'Red Chief' has expanded to more than 24 states with 5000 MBOs (multi branded outlets).

Manoj Gyanchandani had always wanted to do something different from what his family was doing. "Our hero brand "Ghadi Detergent" was already established in the market with our office in Kanpur. Kanpur has always been the hub of leather and related products and that's what the city is most famous for.

"In the mid-90s, the leather industry in the city was on the rise, which made me think in the direction of setting up the leather shoes business vertical. I worked on a business plan with thorough research and discussed the idea with my father, he was excited about the possibilities and backed me and my idea with his assuring words "We should definitely do it"; and this in a nutshell is the story of Leayan Global Pvt Ltd's genesis and how my entrepreneurial journey started," said the Managing Director Gyanchandani.

Leayan Global Pvt Ltd (LGPL) is a part of the billion-dollar RSPL Group, and was incorporated in the year 1995 to export leather footwear and other allied products. Today, LGPL has its own tannery at Kanpur and manufacturing units at Kanpur and Unnao with the daily production capacity being more than 6000 pairs per day.

In 1997, the company launched its flagship brand 'Red Chief', with the aim of providing quality leather footwear to its customers and today 'Red Chief' has expanded to more than 24 states with 5000 MBOs (multi branded outlets).

In 2011, Red Chief diversified its product portfolio with the introduction of apparels and launched its retail division to sell footwear and apparel products through the same. The first retail store was opened in Kanpur, today it claims to have more than 200 exclusive stores in more than 16 states.

LGPL made its way to ecommerce platforms in 2012 and started selling their footwear and apparel products through various platforms.

In 2016, LGPL introduced its sports brand 'Furo Sports' and thus made an entry in the athleisure segment. 'Comfort Walk', another brand of LGPL was introduced in the year 2021 to provide economical footwear to masses.

LGPL also made an entry into the premium formalwear shoes segment with the launch of brand 'Top Brass' in the year 2021 and has three retail stores in Lucknow and Prayagraj.

LGPL has a customer base and a foothold especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and claims to be steadily strengthening its presence in metro cities and Tier 1 cities by leaps and bounds.

According to Gyanchandani, being from a small town did pose some challenges in the initial years with the lack of entry level networking opportunities, along with limited resources as well as a lack of diversity; however, it is important to note that success is possible regardless of where you come from.

Facts:

Year of inception of the company- 1995

Turnover for FY 2022-23 – INR 350 Cr

Number of employees – 700

Headoffice location- Kanpur