Rafique Malik and Family

Metro Brands occupies the price point between unbranded local footwear and imported premium brands. Most Indian footwear purchases happen in that space.

Rafique Malik built Metro Shoes from a single post-Independence retail store in Mumbai into a footwear retail chain that is now among the largest in the country by store count and revenue. The business operates under the Metro brand and through licensed retail for other footwear brands, with over 900 stores across India. The company listed on Indian stock exchanges in 2021, institutionalising a business that had been family-held through its decades of growth.

Next-generation leaders Farah Malik Bhanji and Alisha Malik have focused on digital retail expansion and entry into the athleisure and sports footwear categories, which are growing faster than traditional formal footwear as lifestyle preferences shift. The core business remains the physical store network, which serves a mass-market customer in organised retail environments at price points between unbranded local footwear and expensive imported brands. That middle market is where India's largest volume of footwear purchasing happens, and Metro's long-established position in it is the underlying asset the family has built over several decades.