Clarks is a British shoe brand whose brand-owning company, C. & J. Clark International Limited, was incorporated in 1915 and is registered at 40 High Street, Street, Somerset. In India, it is sold today by Metro Brands, the listed Mumbai shoe retailer, under an exclusive distribution agreement Metro disclosed to the stock exchanges on 23 June 2025.
The more useful fact for a buyer sits on the listing itself. Of 40 Clarks product records read on Myntra on 21 September 2026, 37 declared India as the country of origin, and most named an Indian factory as manufacturer. A British name, then, on shoes whose listings mostly declare India as origin.
Clarks reaches India through Metro Brands, which its own exchange filing names as exclusive distributor and whose company owns clarks.in. On 21 September 2026, Metro Brands was seller of record on 35 of 40 Myntra listings, 37 of 40 declared India as origin, and the shelf sold at 88.0% of MRP with only 8 of 100 listings reduced. No import duty sits in the price of an India-made pair.
Snapshot
- Brand owner
- C. & J. Clark International Limited, UK company 00141015, incorporated 1915, Street, Somerset
- Group filing company
- C&J Clark (No 1) Limited, UK company 03342369
- Significant holders on the UK register
- Li Ning, an individual, and C&J Clark Limited, each more than 25% but not more than 50%, since 2 July 2022
- Indian partner
- Metro Brands Limited (NSE: METROBRAND, BSE: 543426), exclusive distribution agreement disclosed 23 June 2025
- Clarks company in India
- Clarks India Services Private Limited, CIN U46413TN2010FTC077040, Chennai, incorporated 18 August 2010
- Former joint-venture company
- Clarks Footwear Private Limited, CIN U19200MH2010PTC335449, Mumbai, active; current owner not established
- Indian trade marks
- CLARKS device marks, class 25 (987344) and class 35 (2239364), proprietor C. & J. Clark International, both registered (mirror reading)
- Myntra catalogue
- 288 listings, 21 September 2026
- Median price paid in India
- ₹5,499 against a median MRP of ₹6,249, 100 listings, 21 September 2026
- Declared origin
- India 37, Vietnam 1, Cambodia/India 1, China/India 1, across 40 listings
Who owns Clarks
The brand’s trade marks in India and its agreement with Metro Brands both sit with C. & J. Clark International Limited. The UK companies register shows that company controlled by C&J Clark (Holdings) Limited, which is in turn controlled by C&J Clark (No 1) Limited, the company that files the group’s accounts.
The register’s answer changed twice in about seventeen months. On 19 February 2021 a fund of LionRock Capital, acting through a general partner in the British Virgin Islands, was notified as holding more than 50% but less than 75% of C&J Clark (No 1) Limited. That is a change of control, and the filing records it. LionRock’s law firm, Goodwin, had announced the agreement to take a majority stake on 4 November 2020.
- LionRock Capital fundMore than 50%, less than 75%; notified 19 February 2021
- LionRock fund ceasesRecorded as ceasing on 2 July 2022
- Li Ning and C&J Clark LimitedEach above 25%, neither above 50%, from 2 July 2022
The diagram shows the register’s own entries: one majority holder for about seventeen months, then two minority holders and no one above half.
Since 2 July 2022, two parties have each held more than 25% but not more than 50%. One is Li Ning, recorded as an individual in Hong Kong; his notice was filed on 26 April 2024. The other is C&J Clark Limited, which a Clark family trustee company, Street Trustee Family Company Ltd, is recorded as controlling. The latest confirmation statement, made on 2 August 2026, was filed “with no updates”.
Two published accounts do not line up with the register, and we print them as they stand. First, the date: the register records LionRock’s fund ceasing on 2 July 2022, while a Goodwin note dated 2 February 2023 describes LionRock closing the sale of its “remaining indirect stake” to Viva China. Both can be true, a fall below half in 2022 and the sale of what remained in 2023, but no document read reconciles them. Second, the holder: the register names Li Ning personally, while Goodwin and the press describe the buyer as Viva China Holdings. The register is the filing, so this page names the individual it names.
How Clarks reaches India
Clarks comes to India by the most transparent route there is: a listed Indian partner that names the brand in its own filing. On 23 June 2025 Metro Brands disclosed an agreement with C. & J. Clark International Limited and Clarks India Services Private Limited for the “Distribution and sale of Clarks Products on an exclusive basis through all the distribution channels”.
The disclosure covers India and “neighbouring territories namely, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka”. It lists footwear and accessories, including handbags, belts and umbrellas, across mono-brand stores, multi-brand stores, e-commerce, travel retail and duty-free. It gives no term in years, saying only that the agreement “has multiple dates and gates for renewal”, and states that “the size of the agreement is not quantifiable”. Metro takes no shareholding, and the disclosure answers “No” on related party.
The press release filed with it calls Metro “Clarks exclusive Retail and Digital Partner for India” under “a long-term distribution agreement”, and describes the deal as “Clarks’ official comeback to the Indian market”. This is a distribution agreement. It is not a licence, a franchise or a joint venture, and Metro’s own filing is what says so.
The arrangement was still described as running in August 2026. Metro’s first-quarter investor presentation for FY2027 says the Cloudsteppers women’s range was in about 300 multi-brand outlets and a limited men’s range in about 100, that the complete range was expected from Clarks by the second quarter, and that Clarks exclusive brand outlets were “expected to be launched in Q3 FY27”. As of that presentation, then, no Clarks exclusive store had opened under Metro. Metro’s 2025-26 annual report discloses no separate Clarks revenue.
The Indian website confirms the same operator. The terms of use on clarks.in say the site “is owned by METRO BRANDS LTD.”, and its contact page gives Metro’s Kurla address in Mumbai. Readers who want to see how Metro runs its own label can read our Metro Shoes audit.
- 2010Clarks Future Footwear incorporated, 9 August; Clarks India Services, 18 August
- 2021Press: Future Group’s 50% in the joint venture to dilute to 24%
- 2024Press: Reliance Retail and Clarks end a joint venture of about two years
- 2025Metro Brands discloses exclusive distribution, 23 June
- 2026Cloudsteppers in about 300 multi-brand outlets; exclusive stores expected Q3 FY27
The 2021 and 2024 entries rest on press reports; the rest are register entries and Metro’s filings.
Sources: company-register mirrors; Business Standard, 21 September 2021 and 23 August 2024; Metro Brands filings, June 2025 and August 2026.
Two Clarks companies on the Indian register
The register carries two separate companies with Clarks in the name. Clarks India Services Private Limited, in Chennai, is marked as a subsidiary of a foreign company. Its paid-up capital is ₹48,55,750, and the TheCompanyCheck mirror carries 27 employees and FY2025 revenue of ₹9.86 crore, which are the mirror’s figures rather than accounts we have seen. Its listed activity is support services. It is a party to the Metro agreement, though the disclosure does not say what role it plays.
The second is Clarks Footwear Private Limited, now registered in Mumbai. The register mirror lists its former names in this order: Clarks Future Footwear Limited, Clarks Future Footwear Private Limited, Clarks Reliance Footwear Private Limited and then its present name. Its paid-up capital is ₹204.20 crore and it is marked active; the mirror carries FY2025 revenue of ₹74.58 crore, down 55%, with 298 employees.
Its history is the story of Clarks’ earlier Indian partners. A Business Standard report of 21 September 2021 said two Future Group companies together held 50% of the joint venture and would be diluted to 24%. A second Business Standard report, of 23 August 2024, citing an unnamed industry source, said Reliance Retail and Clarks had ended a joint venture of about two years that ran “over 30” exclusive stores, and that “these stores are getting closed”; Clarks told the paper, “We won’t be commenting on this.” The register does not date the change of name, and no shareholding record was read, so who owns this company today is not established.
What the Myntra shelf shows
On 21 September 2026, Myntra’s Clarks brand facet carried 288 listings. Forty product records were read for the statutory declaration that the Legal Metrology rules require: maximum retail price, country of origin and the manufacturer or packer.
| Field, 40 listings | What the declarations say |
|---|---|
| Seller of record | METRO BRANDS 35; another seller 5 |
| Country of origin | India 37; Vietnam 1; Cambodia/India 1; China/India 1 |
| Manufacturer named | Calsea Footwear Pvt Ltd 17; Aston Shoes Pvt Ltd 13; C&J Clark International 3; Sara Suole Pvt Ltd 2; Gupta Overseas 2; others |
| Manufacturer line blank | 0 of 40 |
| Net quantity blank | 12 of 40 |
Myntra product records, read 21 September 2026.
The seller-of-record test matches the filing: the company Metro disclosed as exclusive distributor is the seller on 35 of the 40 records. The other five named a different seller.
Every record names a manufacturer, and most name an Indian factory. A pair declared as made in India has paid no import duty, so none of the customs arithmetic that explains an imported brand’s Indian price applies to these shoes. The comparison worth making is with Birkenstock, read the same afternoon: 40 of 40 declared Germany, made by Birkenstock’s own German companies and sold by its own Indian subsidiary.
Clarks’ own corporate page on where it makes its shoes gives a production split for one season, Spring/Summer 2022: China 26.7%, Cambodia 23.0%, India 17.8%, Vietnam 14.6%, Mexico 6.3%, Bangladesh 4.7%, Indonesia 2.9%, Albania 2.2%, Portugal 1.7% and Romania 0.1%. India was the third-largest source that season. The figures are four years old, the page names no factory count, and it says that “in most of these factories the facilities are shared with production for other brands”.
Thirty-seven of forty Clarks listings read declared India as origin, so the duty argument that explains most imported shoe prices does not reach these pairs.
What Clarks costs in India
A sounding of 100 distinct Clarks listings on 21 September 2026 gave a median MRP of ₹6,249 and a median price paid of ₹5,499, which is 88.0% of MRP. Only 8 of the 100 were reduced. The shelf carried 12 distinct MRPs and four discount rungs, at 40%, 55%, 60% and 65%. Formal shoes led with 27 listings, then casual shoes 24, flats 19 and heels 19.
For contrast, Birkenstock charged 94.4% of MRP the same day with 24 of 100 reduced, while FILA, also sold by Metro Brands, charged 64.5% with 56 of 100 reduced. One partner, two brands, and shares of MRP twenty-three points apart on the same day.
The tier follows from what is charged on the core line, ₹5,499 at the median, which places Clarks in the premium band for footwear. The basis is the median price paid on the shelf, not the cheapest listing or the dearest.
| Desert Boot Beeswax, style 26155484 | Price | Type | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom, clarks.com | £99.00 | Recommended retail; a “Buy 2 get 20% off” offer was running | 21 September 2026 |
| United States, clarks.com | $140.00 | List price, before sales tax, no sale shown | 21 September 2026 |
| India | — | No matched Indian price taken | — |
No like-for-like comparison was taken. The Indian price for this style code was not read, so this page does not say whether the Desert Boot costs more or less here, and it does not convert either figure. Nor does it assume the Indian pair is imported, since the shelf is mostly India-made. Read the country of origin on the box before deciding what any gap means.
The comfort claims
Clarks sells comfort, and its American technology page names a run of cushioning systems. None of the claims read carries a number, a test standard or a named test house. Cushion Plus “reduces strain on the ball of your foot, while simultaneously absorbing the shock of every step”. MI-X is a “high-rebound, part-recycled EVA midsole with a multi-density, contoured, Extreme Comfort footbed”. Contoured Comfort uses “high-density foam to support the foot’s heel and arch”, and Cushion Soft is named with no claim at all.
None of that makes the claims false. It means they are descriptions rather than measurements, and a buyer should judge them in the shop, on their own feet. No waterproofing figure, standard or tester was found on the pages read, so treat a “waterproof” tag as the brand’s description.
On leather, Clarks says “over 90% of our leather comes from tanneries with a Bronze – Gold rating” and calls itself “a founding member of the Leather Working Group”, the body that awards those ratings. The page gives no split between gold, silver and bronze, no year and no tanning method.
Counterfeits and how to buy safely
C. & J. Clark International holds registered CLARKS device marks in India in class 25 for footwear, filed in 2001 and valid to 2031, and in class 35 for retail and online-store services, filed in 2011 and valid to 2031, according to the QuickCompany register mirror. No registered user is shown on either.
Clarks publishes no authenticity code, hologram, QR check or serial lookup on clarks.com or clarks.in, and the clarks.in help pages do not cover authorised sellers. Some footwear brands do publish a counterfeit-warning page with a retailer locator; no Clarks equivalent was found on the pages read. clarks.in does carry a store locator. A counterfeit copies the name and the mark; a legal lookalike copies only the shape of a desert boot.
Read the seller
Metro Brands was the seller on 35 of 40 Myntra listings read. A different seller is not proof of a fake, but it is a reason to read the rest of the declaration.
Read the origin and the maker
India with a named factory was the norm on the listings read. The same block is printed on the box; turn it over in the shop.
Compare with clarks.in
Metro’s company owns clarks.in. A price far below the one on the brand’s own Indian site is the plainest warning a buyer gets.
Who Clarks is actually for
Clarks in India is a mostly India-made, mostly full-price shelf of formal shoes, casual shoes, flats and heels, sold by one listed retailer under a filed agreement. For a buyer, that means a clear chain of answerability: a named seller, a named factory on the box, and a listed company that has told the exchange what it has been appointed to do. For other shoe businesses selling in India, see our audits of Bata and Woodland.
It is less suited to someone who wants a British-made shoe or a deep discount. With 8 of 100 listings reduced, the sale is not where Clarks lives, and the comfort language is unmeasured. Buyers weighing it against other comfort-led names can read our ASICS and Crocs audits.
Common questions
Is Clarks a British brand?
Yes. The company that owns the brand and its Indian trade marks, C. & J. Clark International Limited, is registered in Street, Somerset, and was incorporated in 1915. On the UK register, no single holder has been above half of the group’s filing company since 2 July 2022.
Who sells Clarks in India?
Metro Brands, under an exclusive distribution agreement it disclosed to the exchanges on 23 June 2025. Metro’s company owns clarks.in and was seller of record on 35 of 40 Myntra listings read on 21 September 2026.
Are Clarks shoes sold in India made in India?
Most listings read declare India. On 21 September 2026, 37 of 40 Myntra listings declared India as country of origin, with Indian factories such as Calsea Footwear and Aston Shoes named as manufacturer.
Does Clarks go on sale in India?
Rarely, on the shelf read. Only 8 of 100 listings were reduced on 21 September 2026, and the median price paid was 88.0% of MRP.
Does Li Ning own Clarks?
The UK register records Li Ning, as an individual, holding more than 25% but not more than 50% of the group’s filing company since 2 July 2022, alongside a Clark family company in the same band. Press and a law firm’s note describe the buyer as Viva China Holdings; the two accounts have not been reconciled.
References
- UK Companies House, C. & J. Clark International Limited, 00141015 — incorporation 1915, Street address, control by C&J Clark (Holdings) Limited
- UK Companies House, C. & J. Clark (Holdings) Limited, 00079142 — control by C&J Clark (No 1) Limited
- UK Companies House, C&J Clark (No 1) Limited, persons with significant control — LionRock fund 19 February 2021 to 2 July 2022; Li Ning and C&J Clark Limited from 2 July 2022
- UK Companies House, C&J Clark (No 1) Limited, filing history — confirmation statement of 2 August 2026, no updates
- UK Companies House, C&J Clark Limited, 03314066 — control by Street Trustee Family Company Ltd
- Goodwin, 4 November 2020 — LionRock agrees to take a majority stake
- Goodwin, 2 February 2023 — sale of LionRock’s “remaining indirect stake” to Viva China
- Metro Brands, exchange disclosure, 23 June 2025 — parties, exclusive distribution, territories, products, channels, term and size wording
- Metro Brands, press release filed 23 June 2025 — “exclusive Retail and Digital Partner”, “official comeback”
- Metro Brands, Q1 FY2027 investor presentation, August 2026 — about 300 and 100 multi-brand outlets, full range by Q2, exclusive outlets expected Q3 FY27
- Metro Brands, Annual Report 2025-26 — no separate Clarks revenue disclosed
- clarks.in, terms of use and contact page — site owned by Metro Brands; Kurla address
- TheCompanyCheck mirror, Clarks India Services Private Limited and ZaubaCorp mirror — CIN, incorporation, capital, activity, employees and revenue as the mirror carries them
- ZaubaCorp mirror, Clarks Footwear Private Limited and TheCompanyCheck mirror — CIN, former names, capital, status, FY2025 revenue and employees as the mirror carries them
- Business Standard, 21 September 2021 — Future Group’s 50% in the joint venture to dilute to 24%
- Business Standard, 23 August 2024 — Reliance Retail joint venture ended, “over 30” stores, Clarks’ response
- QuickCompany mirror, trade mark 987344 and trade mark 2239364 — class 25 and class 35 registrations, proprietor, validity
- Clarks, “Where we make our shoes” — Spring/Summer 2022 production split; shared facilities
- Clarks US, cushioning technologies — claim wording for Cushion Plus, MI-X, Contoured Comfort, Cushion Soft
- Clarks US, leather page — over 90% from Bronze to Gold rated tanneries; Leather Working Group
- clarks.com UK, Desert Boot 26155484 and clarks.com US — £99.00 and $140.00, read 21 September 2026
- clarks.in, FAQ and store locator — no authenticity or authorised-seller section
- Myntra, brand facet Clarks, read 21 September 2026 — 288 listings; 100-listing sounding; 40 declarations for seller, origin and manufacturer; Birkenstock and FILA soundings the same day
Clarks is unusually well documented for a foreign shoe brand in India. A listed partner names it in a filing, the same partner owns its Indian website and sells 35 of 40 listings read, and 37 of 40 declarations name India and, mostly, an Indian factory. A buyer who wants to know who answers for the pair has a straight answer.
Two things deserve scepticism. The price: at 88.0% of MRP, with no import duty in an India-made pair, the Indian price is a margin decision, and no matched Indian price for the Desert Boot was taken to test it. And the comfort language: a run of cushioning names, and not one number, standard or test house behind them.
Buy Clarks here for a traceable, India-made shoe at close to full price, and judge the comfort on your own feet, not on the label.
