Metro Brands to open 225 stores in two fiscal years

Footwear business Metro Brands plans to launch 225 brick-and-mortar stores in India in the coming two fiscal years. The company will finance the significant expansion by its regular cash accruals.

“We anticipate sales growth of 10% to 15% and are guiding a long-term compound annual growth rate of 15% to 18%,” Metro Brands Limited’s CFO Kaushal Parekh told the Economic Times. “As a debt free entity, we can fund store expansions through our yearly cash generation. We’ve maintained a policy of distributing at least 25% of out profits after tax to shareholders for the past 15 to 20 years.”
 
Metro Brands is keen to ensure that its inorganic expansion is carried out in line with its guided return on capital targets, according to Parekh. The business also harnesses collaborations to drive growth and recently tied up with US-based business Foot Locker to bolster its sports and athleisure product offering. The first Foot Locker showroom is slated to be opened as part of the partnership in the second half of the 2025 financial year.
 
Metro Brands Limited reported a 3% year-on-year drop in net profits during the first quarter of the 2025 financial year, totalling Rs 92 crore compared to Rs 95 crore in the first quarter of the 2024 financial year, ET Retail reported. The business expects the second half of the fiscal year to see strong growth fuelled by the ongoing offline expansion.