News: New Balance in Indian retail push

(UPI 04/05/2006) New Delhi - U.S. footwear maker New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. plans to open 50 exclusive outlets in India by 2008.

The company, which also plans to put its products on the shelves of India footwear chains like Bata, Regal, Metro, Lords and key departmental stores like Pantaloon and Lifestyle, said it would tap the market for running and walking shoes, the Press Trust of India reported Tuesday.

'We plan to capture the major share of this market', said New Balance Asia head Darren Tucker, adding, 'We want to up our market share to 15 percent and to achieve this we propose to go in for wholesalers and distributors.'