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Metro Brands forays into athletic footwear with launch of MetroActiv

07 November 2025, Mumbai 

India's leading footwear retailer, Metro Brands has launched MetroActiv, a dynamic, multi-brand retail destination marking its most ambitious entry yet into the dedicated athletic footwear category.

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Following the successful introduction of global brands like Foot Locker, Fila, and New Era, Metro Brands is now expanding its portfolio into the core sports performance segment.

MetroActiv is designed to inspire India to get active and represents the next evolution in how the country experiences sportswear through accessibility, expertise, and community.

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Built on Metro Brands’ retail excellence, MetroActiv aims to make premium, multi-branded athletic sportswear more accessible nationwide.

The new concept blends a diversified product assortment with expert guidance and a connected fitness community.

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Each store functions as an experiential hub, offering footwear, apparel, and accessories from top global performance brands such as Nike, adidas, Puma, Asics, Skechers, and New Balance, catering to running, training, lifestyle, and outdoor performance needs.

The initial rollout phase will debut physical stores in Indore, Dehradun, and Jodhpur, complemented by the launch of the e-commerce platform metroactiv.com.

SUSTAINABILITY

Ranging from 3,000 to 6,000 sq ft, these stores are designed as vibrant, high-energy arenas. The e-commerce platform enhances this experience with integrated wellness tools like a Calorie Counter, Nutrition Tracker, and BMI Calculator, creating a seamless, connected ecosystem for consumers.

A core differentiator is the highly trained team of ‘Pacers’- performance advisors who provide authentic fitness expertise and product guidance in every store.

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Community engagement extends beyond shopping through collaborations with local running clubs and fitness groups, hosting city 5K runs and in-store activations.

Nissan Joseph, CEO of Metro Brands, states, MetroActiv represents the natural evolution of our commitment to innovation.

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India is at an inflection point where fitness, fashion, and functionality converge, and MetroActiv is designed to champion this shift.” With this launch, Metro Brands aims to become the most trusted name in athletic sportswear retail, reinforcing its commitment to leadership in the footwear and athleisure segment.

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KKCL Posts Record Q2 results

Video Caption: News 12- Breaking News Intro
Video Duration: 03 : 30

07 November 2025, Mumbai 

Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), the four-decade-old lifestyle powerhouse, has just delivered its best-ever quarterly performance, reporting Rs 354.1 crore revenues for Q2 FY26 and surpassing margin guidance with a 20 per cent EBIDTA margin. While the financial figures underscore operational discipline, the company’s recent success is rooted in a forward-looking strategy that moves beyond its traditional menswear dominance: a dynamic multi-brand architecture, aggressive asset-light retail expansion, and a steadfast focus on profitable growth.

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The winning strategy

KKCL’s strength lies in its fully integrated operations from designing and manufacturing to branding and retailing which ensures strong control over product quality and cost factors. Their current growth is being driven by a clear brand segregation and strategic diversification:

Table: The flagship & power brands

Brand

Category focus

Target demographic

Role & growth

Killer

Premium Casuals, Denim

Youth (Core customer)

Flagship brand, contributing over 60% of total revenue. Embodying youthful boldness, it leads product innovation in the denim segment.

Integriti

Youth Casual & Work Wear

Value-conscious Youth

Second largest contributor (approx. 15-20% of revenue). Provides a trusted, value-proposition across casual and work wear.

Lawman Pg3

High Fashion, Partywear

Young Adults

Pivoting to a retail-centric model (EBOs) after rationalizing its presence in the MBO channel to maintain its premium high-fashion positioning.

Easies

Semi-Formal, Corporate

Discerning Professionals

Merges elegance with modern sensibility, focusing on refined semi-formal menswear (chinos, shirts), catering to the growing 'smart casual' segment.

Source: Compiled from Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL) Q2 FY26 Press Release, KKCL Annual Reports, Credit Rating Agency Reports, and Management Earnings Call Transcripts.

The diversification drive, targeting women and kids

To overcome revenue concentration challenges (historically relying heavily on Killer), KKCL has entered the fast-growing women's and kidswear segments:

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Kraus (women’s denim): In June 2024, KKCL acquired a 50 per cent stake in Kraus Casuals. This move provided an immediate and strong entry into the women's denim wear segment. In just nine months post-acquisition (9MFY25), Kraus recorded revenues of Rs 162 crore, indicating strong consumer traction and serving as a major growth engine for diversification.

Junior Killer (kidswear): Targeting the young boys' segment, this brand ensures KKCL connects with consumers early and secures loyalty for future growth cycles.

The retail revolution

The core of KKCL's ‘Vision 2028’ is an aggressive retail infrastructure scale-up, moving away from a traditional Multi-Brand Outlet (MBO) reliance to a direct-to-consumer focus through Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs). Hemant Jain, Joint Managing Director, affirmed this commitment stating, "The strong performance of our existing EBOs has instilled confidence in this strategy, and we believe that further expansion will continue to yield positive results."

Table: Retail initiatives

Metric

Q2 FY26 status

FY2028 target

Strategy & initiative

Total Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs)

652

>900

Adding 80-100 EBOs annually, driven by an asset-light model.

Q2 FY26 EBO Additions

29

-

Significant pace of expansion, focused on high-street and mall locations.

Asset-Light Model

Majority FOFO stores

Sustained

Expansion is mainly through the Franchisee-Owned, Franchisee-Operated (FOFO) model, ensuring rapid scalability without stressing the balance sheet.

Channel Focus

Retail channel grew 86% in Q1 FY26

Increased contribution

Intensifying penetration in high-potential markets, particularly Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which are showing faster revenue growth than metros.

Brand Visibility

Asia Cup 2025 Title Partnership

High-impact Marketing

Association with major sports events to significantly amplify visibility and consumer connect across India and South Asia.

Navigating challenges with profits

KKCL's integrated model is a direct response to historical industry challenges, demonstrating a commitment to ‘Stability, Sustainability, and Scalability’ over reckless growth. Meanwhile the Indian apparel market has seen an onslaught of international brands, private labels, and the rise of e-commerce, creating fierce pricing pressure. To face this realty unlike some competitors who chase market share via deep discounting, KKCL's management has maintained a policy of ‘profit-led growth’. The company has been able to sustain strong EBIDTA margins (consistently in the 18-20 per cent range) by leveraging four in-house manufacturing units (ISO certified) to control the entire value chain, reducing external reliance, and improving cost efficiency. And driving higher realizations through a stronger focus on full-price sales and a premium denim product mix.

The COVID-19 crisis and inventory shocks

The pandemic necessitated a temporary shift to a 'just-in-time' inventory model, impacting FY24 revenue growth. A foundational management principle has been to avoid high-risk leveraged growth and focus on building strong cash reserves. This foresight and fortitude allowed the company to weather the crisis with minimal long-term impact and quickly accelerate its retail expansion post-pandemic (adding 131 EBOs between FY21-23), positioning it perfectly for the subsequent consumer recovery. As Kewalchand P Jain, Chairman and Managing Director says, "Our foresight and fortitude are enabling our brand equity to outshine in these tough times. We have been aggressively investing to build strong product brands... but have always avoided high-risk leveraged growth."

The strong Q2 performance contributed to outstanding half-yearly growth, reaffirming the success of KKCL's strategic execution.

Table: KKCL’s financial overview

Particulars (Rs cr) H1 FY26 H1 FY25 Y-O-Y growth Revenue from Operations 587.8 459.5 27.90% Gross Profit (GP) 247.8 197.5 25.50% EBIDTA 112.5 91.5 23.00% EBIDTA Margin (%) 19.10% 19.90% -

Thus KKCL’s story is a compelling blueprint for how a legacy Indian fashion house is adapting to a globalized, fast-fashion landscape. Its combination of a disciplined financial framework and agile retail expansion, backed by the strategic acquisition of Kraus, positions it for transformative growth. With the macro environment showing signs of sustained recovery and discretionary spending on the rise, KKCL is progressing toward its Vision 2028 roadmap, a target of Rs 1,500 crore in revenue, driven by continued product innovation, premiumization, and deeper retail expansion. As Managing Director Hemant Jain sums up, "We remain committed to driving profitable brand-led growth while delivering superior shareholder returns over the long term."

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