Explained: How the Dua brothers turned Relaxo into a footwear empire

The $3-bn company has grown from a small cycle parts enterprise to a shoe business with 400 outlets and 20,000 employees

February 17 marked a milestone for Relaxo Footwears. Its shares traded at an all-time high — at Rs 830.15 a piece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) — taking its market capitalisation beyond Rs 20,600 crore.

The unprecedented feat not only pushed its market cap to over 1,100 times that of the value it had 25 years ago during its initial public offer but also boosted the fortunes of Relaxo promoters, the  Dua family, taking the combined wealth of the firm to over Rs 14,600 crore (around $2 billion).

The two key promoters, Ramesh Kumar Dua and his elder brother