Indian shoemaker Woodland plans grand global expansion

Last month, Woodland tied up with one of China's biggest footwear retailers, Aokang International

After nearly a two-decade hiatus, Harkirat Singh, the managing director of Woodland, is plotting to return to the footwear market in Canada, a country he exited after competition from China made his business unviable.

In his sights are also Russia, South East Asia, Africa, Australia and South America, among other regions. “With our kind of shoes, we have an edge in international markets. We know our products so well,” says Singh. But knowing the product isn’t enough to succeed in international markets, and Singh, the third generation of the family to run the business, knows that only too well.

Woodland, which is