Nike, Adidas Shoes Maker Pou Chen to Invest Nearly $280 Millions in India

03 May 2023: The investments under this MoU would be made in phases over the next 3-5 years and the unit would also boost footwear exports. Hong Fu makes shoes for international brands like Puma, Converse and Nike among others. The investment could create 20,000 jobs in Tamilnadu in next 12 years as per press report. The investment would come almost a year after another Taiwanese footwear manufacturer, the Hong Fu Group, signed a deal to invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up a footwear unit in Tamilnadu.

Tamilnadu manufactures 45 per cent of India’s footwear exports over the last five years with top brands, including Gucci and Giorgio Armani, making products or sourcing raw materials from the state. Pou Chen, however, is not the only global company to set up its manufacturing plant in Tamilnadu. Apple suppliers Foxconn, Pegatron, and Salcomp have also ramped up their production in Tamilnadu and India as they are looking to diversify manufacturing.

Taiwanese footwear maker for brands like Nike, Adidas, New Balance and Timberland manufactured and shipped over 272 million pairs of shoes in financial year 2022 globally, up nearly 14% from a year earlier. It already has plants in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

“We hope this would be the first of many investments to come (in India),” Pou Chen Vice President George Liu said in a meeting streamed online with Tamilnadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.