Legacy footwear player Liberty is accelerating its transformation journey by consolidating its specialised sub-brands and expanding its retail footprint, with plans to open 100 new stores this fiscal year, including exclusive outlets for its comfort-focused brand Healers.
“We need to constantly keep evolving. We are putting a great deal of effort into energising the brand and making our footwear more youthful and more connected with consumers,” Anupam Bansal, Executive Director, Liberty, told ETRetail.
Liberty has consolidated its portfolio from ten sub-brands to six, with each catering to a distinct consumer segment.
“Healers is our comfort-centric brand, Leap 7X is our athleisure brand, Aha addresses the slippers category, Lucy & Luke caters to kids, while Warrior focuses on industrial footwear. Consumers today are looking for specialisation, and that’s the direction we’re moving towards,” Bansal said.
Currently, Healers contributes nearly 40 per cent of Liberty’s business, while Leap 7X accounts for another 20 per cent. Over the next three to four years, the company plans to gradually establish these as standalone consumer brands.
“We will eventually position Liberty and Healers as separate identities. Each of these six brands has the potential to stand independently, but they will evolve at the right pace,” he added.
To support this strategy, Liberty has begun developing exclusive Healers stores focused on airports, malls, and pop-up locations.
“We have already started scouting for locations, and over the next six months, consumers will start seeing dedicated Healers stores. These will initially be company-owned and company-operated,” Bansal shared.
The company currently operates around 500 stores, including 200 company-owned and 300 franchise outlets, and plans to add another 100 stores this fiscal year, of which 26 will be company-owned. Store sizes will range between 1,000 and 2,000 sq. ft. , while Healers stores will operate in compact 500 sq. ft. formats.
Liberty has earmarked Rs 50 crore towards retail expansion and store modernisation this year, alongside another Rs 25 crore for marketing.
“We are investing close to Rs 75 crore this year towards retail expansion, store upgrades, brand building and marketing. Our focus for the next one to two years is strengthening the top line rather than maximising margins,” Bansal said.
The company is also revamping its retail identity, with two pilot stores already operational under the new design.
“Once we fine-tune the concept across five stores, we’ll start rolling it out across the network. The objective is to enhance every customer touchpoint,” he said.
Alongside retail, Liberty is investing in AI-led consumer engagement, website upgrades and personalised footwear solutions.
On manufacturing, the company is prioritising automation over capacity expansion.
“We are not looking to increase capacity. The investment is going into better mechanisation, personalised footwear capabilities and modernising our plants,” Bansal explained.
Online currently contributes around 10 per cent of Liberty’s revenue, and the company expects digital to eventually stabilise at 10–20 per cent.
Exports, which currently contribute less than 5 per cent of revenue or around Rs 30 crore, are also back on Liberty’s growth agenda.
“India is becoming a strong manufacturing alternative globally. We want to regain momentum in exports after several muted years,” Bansal said.
While Liberty had initially targeted 15 per cent growth this year, the company is taking a cautious view amid softer market conditions.
“We are in a reset phase. The investments we are making today are aimed at building the next phase of Liberty’s growth,” Bansal concluded.
