Lodha to develop 1.1-million-sq-ft warehouse, distribution center for Skechers at Palava

Lodha Developers, listed as Macrotech Developers, has entered into an agreement with global lifestyle, athletic footwear and apparel brand Skechers to develop a 1.1-million-sq-ft warehouse and distribution center at Lodha Industrial and Logistics Park (LILP), Palava near Mumbai.
The built-to-suit development will be undertaken by Palava Induslogic 2, where Lodha and an affiliate of Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing have partnered for developing a warehouse park spread across 72 acres of land parcel.

“With this partnership, we are thrilled to achieve the landmark of concluding the largest warehousing transaction in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in 2022. Key partnerships like these for LILP along with the recent announcement of the Green Digital Infrastructure Platform are in line with our aspirations of being a major player in India,” said Shaishav Dharia, CEO, Townships, and Rental Assets, Lodha.

The development of the new Skechers Distribution Centre will be undertaken in two phases, with the first phase being delivered in mid-2023. The state-of-the-art logistics centre will be the second largest national distribution center for Skechers in Asia and is also expected to be one of the tallest warehouse structures in India, constructed on a single plinth and rising to a height of 17 meters at the eaves.

“The Skechers Distribution Centre is a testament to our commitment to the Indian market, enabling us to serve the consumer as we achieve scale. It is a great time to be operating in India’s rapidly growing footwear category and we have fully geared up to take this leap towards establishing a stronger presence in the country,” said Rahul Vira, CEO, Skechers South Asia.

In the last 12 months, Lodha Industrial and Logistics Park has completed 300 acres of plot sale and ‘built-to-suit’ leases. It counts global entities including FM Logistic, Flyjac Logistics, Aptar Pharma, Katerra, Swegon and others among its clients.

Following the implementation of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) and the emergence of ecommerce, the Indian logistics and warehousing sector is headed towards transformative growth.

The demand for warehousing space has stood out in the last few quarters led by penetration of e-commerce and growth of third-party logistics in the middle of the ongoing pandemic scenario.

A favourable regulatory backdrop along with the government’s support through policy and reforms are further expected to boost the infrastructure spend and in turn the overall demand for modern warehousing.