As part of its ambitious and aggressive expansion strategy in the Indian sub-continent, Crocs India opened its 100th store at Chennai, recently. Spread across 625 sq. ft. at the VR Mall, the new store is Crocs’ third in the city and fifth in the state of Tamil Nadu. It will be operated by Metro Shoes, the national franchise partner of Crocs India. The partnership with Metro Shoes began in 2014 which has helped the iconic footwear brand in expanding its reach to over 50 cities through its EBO operations. Speaking on the occasion, Deepak Chhabra, CEO & MD- Crocs India, said, “India is one of the rare markets where, even after opening 100 stores, we still feel under-penetrated. Our absolute focus for the next phase of geographical expansion will continue to be on top 6 metro cities across the country along with state capitals.” He added that exclusive brand stores are a very significant part of the brand’s growth strategy in the country. “In addition to aggressively growing our EBOs, we will be strengthening our presence in tier-2 cities via MBOs and Kiosks. Furthermore, e-commerce will remain an integral part of our distribution strategy and help us reach out to consumers where our brick and mortar presence is limited. Region-wise South India, due to its demographics and very high brand recall, contributes the highest amongst all regions in the country and will remain an integral part of our India growth strategy,” he informed. Commenting on the occasion, Rafique Abdul Malik, Chairman & MD, Metro Shoes, said, “Metro Shoes is glad to partner with a brand which despite being just 16 years old has an iconic status with probably the highest brand-recall across the globe. India as a nation has a high affinity for open shoes and sandals owing to the climatic conditions, making Crocs highly relevant in this market.” With its unique brand awareness and break-through product innovations, Crocs is progressing towards becoming India’s top non-athletic casual footwear brand. Other than its EBOs, Crocs asserts its strong presence in MBO channels through which its overall offline reach extends to more than 150 cities via 1500 + points-of-sale. Additionally, it caters to 20000+ pin codes translating to 400 cities via its e-commerce presence. Over the past 16 years, Crocs has sold more than 350 million pairs of shoes worldwide.