High Glory Footwear India Private Limited, a subsidiary of Taiwan-based Pou Chen Corporation on Monday, April 17, 2023 signed an MoU worth ₹2,302 crore with the Government of Tamil Nadu to set up a non-leather footwear manufacturing unit at the SIPCOT Industrial Park, Ulundurpettai, in Kallakurichi district.
The MoU was signed at Chennai in the presence of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce Thangam Thennarasu, Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, S. Krishnan Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce, Vishnu Venugopalan MD and CEO, Guidance, George Liu, Vice President, Pou Chen Group; Alvin Hu, Vice President, Pou Chen Group; Lynch Lin, Project Office Director and other key government officials.
According to details provided by Guidance, the nodal agency instrumental in bringing in investments into Tamil Nadu, this MoU is expected to generate jobs for over 20,000 people in the non-leather footwear sector in the state over a span of 12 years, especially for youth and women, in and around Kallakurichi.
The leather, leather goods and leather footwear industry in Tamil Nadu has been a significant contributor to the State’s economy for decades. The state has a long history of producing high-quality leather footwear and is known for its skilled workforce and favourable business environment where the leather industry thrives.
With partially similar manufacturing operations, and similar skill sets required of the workforce, the industry has been able to easily adapt its existing operational capacities in leather footwear manufacturing to non-leather footwear manufacturing at minimum costs of transition.
Over the years, there has also been a smaller but significant non-leather footwear industry in Tamil Nadu primarily driven by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The State has been home to several major non-leather footwear manufacturing clusters, including Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Ranipet, and Cheyyar.
“Following the State’s success in the leather footwear and goods industry, major players in the sector in Tamil Nadu witnessed the emergence of the global non-leather footwear industry and put their expertise and resources in traditional leather footwear and goods manufacturing to use in replicating the same success in the non-leather footwear segment,” the Guidance said.
Last year the Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, launched the ‘Tamil Nadu Leather and Footwear Products Policy 2022’. The policy aims to attract nearly ₹20,000 crore in investments in the sector, a major share of which is expected to be in the non-leather sector, and will eventually result in employment opportunities for up to 2 lakh people in the State by 2025.
