Metro Brands to cut prices on 40% of its products after GST revision: CEO

Metro Brands, an Indian multi-brand footwear retail company based in Mumbai, plans to cut prices on about 40% of its products following the goods and services tax (GST) revision.

CEO Nissan Joseph explained that the impact will vary across banners. “In our Walkway business, a high portion of sales fall into the ₹2,500 and below range, while in Metro and Mochi, it would be somewhere in the 40% range,” Joseph said. Brands like Crocs and Clarks will see little change, but Walkway, where most products are priced under ₹1,000, will benefit significantly.

Joseph said the company has already programmed its billing systems to pass on the savings directly at checkout. “It may not be easy to communicate on every single price point, but when consumers go to checkout, they’re definitely going to see that we’ve given them the benefit of the GST decreases,” he added.

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The GST cut, he noted, creates opportunities to reprice some products slightly above ₹2,500 to bring them into the lower tax bracket. He said this could help capture more demand, given consumer sensitivity at that price level. For instance, an item priced at ₹2,700 could be brought down to ₹2,500, with both retailer and customer sharing the tax benefit.

Joseph also pointed out the benefits during the end-of-season sales. Items near the ₹2,500 range could now be offered without additional discounts, still giving buyers a GST-driven price cut.

On the growth outlook, he said Metro Brands remains confident about its long-term performance. Despite some muted quarters, the company has doubled sales since the fiscal year 2018-19 (FY19). “We’re confident that this kind of initiative gets us comfortably back into that 15% plus guidance for the long term,” Joseph said.

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The company, which has a current market capitalisation of ₹35,296.21 crore, has seen its shares gain more than 5% over the last year.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

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