Carona Shoes

Incorporated in 1953, Carona Shoes, managed by the Sahu family till 1984, was earlier called as Carona Sahu Shoe company. In 1984, the company headquarters in D N Road (near Fort) was engulfed fire and in one sense the slide began from there. In 1984, the company was acquired by the Khataus after which it got the present name. The company used to manufacture canvas and rubber footwear of all kinds. It had its manufacturing facilities in Mumbai (Jogeshwari), Aurangabad and Ahmedabad. In 1989, the company entered into a technical agreement with Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport, Germany, to manufacture sports and special application shoes. It came out with a public issue in June 89 to set up a unit in Aurangabad to manufacture the sports shoes. In 1995, there was a reshuffle in the management because of a split in the Khatau family. In addition to the labour problem, the company was also not able to cope up with the competition from the unorganised sector for its lower segment products like canvas and rubber footwear. The company was incurring losses. Consequently, in 1995, it disposed off its Jogeshwari plant where operations were partially suspended since March 94. Around 800 of its 1200 workers were relieved through a VRS scheme. The company renewed its agreement for five years with Puma in 1995. During the year 1999, the company has been registered as a sick company under SICA 1985 and BIFR has appointed Bank of India as its operating agency to expedite preparation of Draft of Rehabilitation Scheme. (with inputs from India Infoline).

In its prime, Carona was a heritage brand of India and the second largest footwear company in India. Carona was a brand which thrived during the license control regime in India. The brand thrived along with Bata. In fact, Carona was fighting head on with the market leader Bata. The shops and the products were extremely similar. When Bata launches one style, Carona quickly followed suit. Both Bata and Carona was instrumental in popularizing canvas shoes in India. These shoes was a rage among kids at that time.

In the nineties, new brands began to corner the market with new designs and fashion. Foreign brands like Nike, Reebok and Adidas began to market aggressively which further worsened the position of Carona.

Both Bata and Carona went in for big trouble those days. Bata had the backing of their foreign parent which helped them sail through the restructuring exercise. Carona did not have that luxury. Bata was able to sustain itself by launching new models at affordable price ranges. But Carona was not able to excite the market with new launches. Both Bata and Carona had its own showrooms which became expensive to maintain. Carona went in to BIFR fold in 1998.