Pavers Foresight Smart Ventures (PFSV) has announced a manufacturing JV with the € 150 million Italian footwear company Fly Flot.
With a target of one million pairs in the first phase, the JV will witness both partners pumping in an initial investment of € 2 million to set up a green-field plant in Tamil Nadu. Though the location for the same is still under finalisation, PFSV expects commercial production to begin by mid 2009.
In a statement, Bruno Maccari, director, international business, Fly Flot said “This JV is a significant move for Fly Flot, as this is the first time we are expanding production facility outside Europe. Vietnam and China were serious contenders but India made the cut finally”.
Fly Flot is a leading footwear manufacturer in Europe, with presence in 57 countries, and produces close to 7.2 million pairs of footwear annually.
Stuart Pavers, president and CEO PFSV said that the company was bullish on India, both from a manufacturing and a retail perspective. Commenting on India vs China, he said that India had tremendous design capability which is yet untapped.
Meanwhile, Mauritius-based PFSV will also launch three international brands by 2009. “India is increasingly a destination for premium international products. We plan to bring in three more international brands by 2009 to cater to this demand,” said Utsav Seth, MD, PFSV.
Earlier, PFSV had announced their plan to set up a footwear design development studio at Ambur in Tamil Nadu at an outlay of around USD 5 million. It also has set up a retail arm, Pavers England Footprint Limited (PEFL) as a JV with Forward Group. PEFL offers its footwear brands across India in association with Reliance Footprint.
