Woodland, well known for its outdoor footwear, started as a manufacturer of winter boots in Canada, with a manufacturing unit in Quebec and exporting their products across the world. At the beginning of the 1990s the company started to face strong competition from China and ended up lefting Canada and shifting its base to India.

Nowadays, Woodland is growing at a 15-20% annually in India and enjoying a stable business. With a store network of over 600 stores, Woodland is now strongly investing in a global expansion into several important footwear markets.

Woodland has announced an agreement with one of China’s biggest footwear retailers, Aokang International, to market its products in that Asian country. Although this is the main footwear manufacturer Woodland believes they own a competitive advantage over local players. On top of that, although there are many footwear producers the company believes few offer the kind of outdoor leather shoes that Woodland does.

The company, which announced the intention to invest to enter the Japan and South Korea markets, is now also targeting Russia, and betting on a strong come back to Canada.

However, the strategies might be different in different markets. In China Woodland is looking to get the attention of fashion conscious buyers who are looking for some outdoor equipment. In Russia and Canada, given the context of the market, the aim is to position the brand in the winter boots segment. Hiking and trekking gear for women may also be a bet in these two markets.

The India business represents 80% of sales and within a period of 5 years Woodland hopes to achieve a 60%/40% ratio between India and overseas markets. The company believes diversification of its product range will be crucial to attaining this target.