SR Ind Bets On Digital-First Flip-Flops To Woo Gen Z With New Brand Pacalop

SR Industries Ltd, a footwear manufacturer with over three decades of experience supplying global brands, is charting a bold new path with its own consumer-facing label—Pacalop. Under the leadership of Managing Director Pankaj Dawar and backed by Bazel International Ltd, SR is shifting from OEM to OBM, targeting India’s digitally savvy, style-conscious youth with comfort-driven, trend-aligned flip-flops.

“India’s footwear industry is moving from commodity to brand,” says Dawar, attributing the shift to rising incomes and evolving lifestyle choices. In an interview with Bizz Buzz, he highlights how the ‘Make in India’ push and athleisure boom are creating fertile ground for innovation. “Brand ownership is the future—it enables faster innovation, better margins, and cultural relevance.”

Dawar also emphasizes the strategic value of cultural fluency and D2C models in capturing Gen Z attention. “Today’s consumer is driven by authenticity, not advertising,” he notes, positioning Pacalop as a vibrant, internet-native brand at the intersection of design, community, and digital commerce

Why is the future belong to brand builder in India’s footwear industry?

India’s footwear industry is experiencing a steady transition, driven by rising per capita consumption and evolving lifestyle preferences. It has shifted from a commodity-based model to a more design- and brand-conscious market. With the ‘Make in India’ initiative recognizing footwear as a champion sector, the ecosystem is becoming increasingly supportive for homegrown innovation.

With a population that skews young, increasingly urban, and digitally connected, India is witnessing a boom in both demand and discernment. Consumers now seek not just price-competitive footwear but products that are expressive, durable, and comfortable—all without compromising on aesthetics. This is especially pronounced in segments such as open footwear, slides, flip-flops, and comfort-driven casuals where the mass consumer is more style-aware than ever before.

Adding momentum to this shift is the rapid growth of athleisure—a lifestyle trend that blends athletic functionality with casual fashion. As more consumers embrace fitness-oriented living, wellness routines, and hybrid work models, the demand for versatile, sport-inspired footwear has surged.

Sneakers, performance-inspired sandals, and cushioned slides are no longer confined to gyms—they are now everyday essentials, seamlessly integrating with streetwear and casual attire. For brands and manufacturers alike, this crossover between utility and fashion presents a significant opportunity to innovate and differentiate.

How do you see the development from manufacturing muscle to market mindset?

India has long been a manufacturing hub for global footwear brands, operating primarily on an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) model. This model has created industrial scale but limited consumer-facing influence.

As the market matures, the real value is shifting from mere production capability to brand equity. Owning the consumer relationship, curating experiences, and standing for something beyond the product itself will define the winners of tomorrow. In this evolving ecosystem, manufacturers who step up to build culturally resonant, digitally fluent brands stand to create long-term strategic advantage—not just through sales, but through influence and identity.

Now, several manufacturing players are pursuing OBM (original brand manufacturing) strategies. By building their own brands, companies gain more control over pricing, customer engagement, and long-term asset creation.

According to you what is strategic value of brand ownership?

In today’s consumer-led economy, owning a brand offers manufacturers a path to sustainable, high-margin growth. By eliminating intermediary costs and selling directly to consumers, companies gain pricing control and significantly improved profitability. More importantly, brand ownership enables real-time responsiveness—drawing from first-hand consumer data and in-house R&D to adapt quickly to market trends and evolving tastes.

An integrated supply chain, long seen as a manufacturing strength, becomes a competitive differentiator when paired with brand ownership. It ensures consistent quality, faster go-to-market cycles, and cost efficiency—crucial in segments where fashion and function must align.

Brand-led strategies shift the focus from transactional output to long-term value creation. Unlike contract manufacturing, which ends at delivery, building a brand creates compounding equity. It opens opportunities for intellectual property monetization, category expansion, and cultural relevance that contract models simply don’t offer.

How do you see digital-first consumption and the strategic shift to D2C?

The consumer landscape has undergone a profound transformation, driven by digital-first behaviours. Social Media Platforms and creator-led content ecosystems have become the primary arenas for product discovery, engagement, and purchase—especially among Gen Z and young millennial audiences.

These consumers are not just digitally native; they are experience-driven, community-focused, and highly discerning. Trust is placed in peers, creators, and authenticity—not traditional advertising.

Do you think that the cultural fluency is the new competitive advantage in brand building?

In an age where attention is fragmented and loyalty is earned moment by moment; cultural fluency has emerged as a critical differentiator for consumer brands. It is no longer sufficient to offer a great product—brands must be able to understand, interpret, and contribute to the cultural dialogue in real time.

Today’s consumers, particularly younger demographics, gravitate towards brands that feel current, relatable, and emotionally aligned with their values and environment. This means engaging with popular culture, internet trends, regional nuances, and social issues—not from the sidelines, but as active participants. Brands that can authentically insert themselves into these conversations build not just visibility, but trust and emotional equity.

For legacy manufacturing companies entering the brand space, this shift represents both a significant challenge and a powerful opportunity. Traditionally geared towards operational excellence, these companies must now develop capabilities in digital storytelling, cultural listening, and creative agility. It requires building internal teams—or partnering externally—that can not only monitor cultural signals but interpret them through a brand lens.

Is it true that the brand fatigue is a growing challenge for legacy footwear brands?

For many legacy footwear brands, brand fatigue is becoming an increasingly urgent concern. Years of consistent visibility and market dominance, while advantageous, can also lead to stagnation in consumer perception. As younger audiences shift towards brands that are agile, culturally relevant, and digitally native, traditional players risk being seen as predictable or disconnected from contemporary lifestyles.

Legacy brands often rely on established playbooks—celebrity endorsements, seasonal campaigns, and mass media visibility—which may no longer resonate with a generation that values authenticity, community, and real-time engagement. Over time, repetition without reinvention leads to diminished consumer excitement and emotional detachment, even among loyal customer bases.

To counter this, legacy footwear brands must adopt a mindset of evolution over preservation. This means refreshing visual identities, diversifying content formats, exploring micro-cultural engagement, and experimenting with new distribution channels like D2C or social commerce. It also means listening more—to consumers, subcultures, and creative collaborators.

What is your view of retail expansion from clicks to shelves?

While the early growth for most new-age footwear brands is digital, the Indian consumer still values touch-and-feel experiences. Offline retail, therefore, remains a critical piece of the puzzle—especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets where trust and discovery are often driven by in-store presence.

For manufacturers with strong logistics and distribution backbones, the opportunity to scale into general trade, large format retail, and multi-brand outlets is well within reach once digital traction is established.

Please share some details about Pacalop, SR’s newest addition…

Following the acquisition by Bazel International Ltd., this marks SR Industries' first major step under new leadership. With over 30 years of manufacturing experience for global brands, SR is. now channelling that expertise into its own consumer-facing venture with- “Pacalop”

It is a bold, playful flip-flop brand crafted for the modern Indian youth and is blending comfort, design innovation, and digital culture. With 10 SKUs crafted using varied EVA densities and arch-support footbeds, it offers stylish, affordable comfort. Built D2C-first, Pacalop thrives on internet trends, influencer content—aiming to become a cultural icon rooted in community, creativity, and real-time engagement.