Paragon is a Kerala footwear group that has sold rubber hawai chappals since 1975. Its slippers, sandals and school shoes sit in shops in almost every Indian town, priced from roughly ₹200 to ₹1,500. The group is private, unlisted and publishes no annual accounts. The thing you will not read anywhere else: Paragon lost money in two of the last three financial years.
Paragon Polymer Products lost ₹66.12 crore in FY23 and ₹37.02 crore in FY24, then made ₹37.08 crore on ₹1,661.69 crore of revenue in FY25. On the brand’s own store on 22 August 2026, shoes sold for ₹188 to ₹752 against printed MRPs of ₹209 to ₹1,499. It is also not India’s largest footwear maker. Relaxo is bigger on every published measure.
Snapshot
- Founded
- 1975, Kottayam, Kerala, India, as M/s Paragon Rubber Industries
- Founder
- Not publicly disclosed
- Headquarters
- Registered office Kottayam, Kerala; corporate office Peenya, Bengaluru
- Current owner
- Paragon Polymer Products Private Limited, held privately by an extended Kerala family
- Category
- Footwear — rubber, EVA, PU, PVC and TPR
- Price band in India
- ₹188 to ₹752 selling, against ₹209 to ₹1,499 MRP, on the brand’s store, 22 August 2026
- Available in India
- Official, through about 200,000 multi-brand outlets and roughly 70 exclusive stores
How it started
The company tells it simply. It began in Kerala in 1975 at 1,500 pairs a day, and ran a “Paragon@50” campaign through 2025. The registry tells it differently.
Paragon Polymer Products Private Limited was incorporated on 27 July 1990, fifteen years after the date on the marketing. The 1975 business was a predecessor firm, M/s Paragon Rubber Industries, which two IP law firms reporting a 2025 appeal call today’s company’s former self. So the name has traded since 1975 and the company since 1990. No source we could reach names who started it, so this audit names no founder.
- M/s Paragon Rubber IndustriesKerala, 1975 — 1,500 pairs a day
- Paragon Polymer Products Pvt LtdIncorporated 27 July 1990, Kottayam
- A four-company groupRated on a combined basis from 1 July 2025
That last box matters. The rating agency now assesses Paragon Polymer Products with Elastrex Polymers, Preston India and Paragon Footwears, two of them Paragon’s own super distributors. The same family directors sit on all four boards, so a ₹250 slipper from the Paragon range comes from a group, not one firm.
What they actually make
Flip-flops, slippers, sandals, sports and casual shoes, ethnics, heels and formals. The business began in rubber hawai and later added EVA, PU and PVC with TPR soles. Three brands sit inside it: Paragon at the mass end, Stimulus above it, and Eeken, launched in 2019.
Manufacturing sits in four locations: Kottayam, Bengaluru, Salem and Hyderabad. A March 2026 report counts 26 facilities across those same four cities, so four clusters of about 26 units is the fair reading. The company also outsources to Calicut and Delhi, so not every Paragon pair is Kerala-made.
The pairs-per-day claim
Paragon’s output figure is quoted everywhere as fact. It is not one. Every version comes from the company, and it keeps moving.
- 20185 lakh pairs a day, stated to CARE Ratings
- 20244 lakh pairs a day, to CARE and on About Us
- 20254.5 lakh pairs a day, stated to CARE Ratings
- 20265 lakh pairs a day, in Deccan Herald
No independent measurement of Paragon’s output exists anywhere.
Paragon has claimed 4 lakh, 4.5 lakh and 5 lakh pairs a day since 2018, and the oldest of those numbers is the largest.
The annual figure is steadier. The company has said since 2024 that it makes about 14 crore pairs a year, in-house plus outsourced. Capacity is bigger and separate at 16.5 crore pairs, which is what the machines could do, not what the group sold.
What Paragon costs in India
Paragon runs its own online store. On 22 August 2026 it carried just fifteen items, with MRPs of ₹209 to ₹1,499 and selling prices of ₹188 to ₹752.
| Product | MRP | Selling price |
|---|---|---|
| Blot EV0740B kids’ school shoes | ₹209 | ₹188 |
| Paragon K2244G men’s sandals | ₹999 | ₹499 |
| EEKEN men’s sports shoes | ₹999 | ₹752 |
| EEKEN K2010G men’s sandals | ₹1,499 | ₹749 |
Source: Paragon’s own online store, read on 22 August 2026.
The discounting is structural, not promotional. Nine of the fourteen priced lines sat 25% to 53% below MRP, the deepest cuts on the Disney licence and Eeken sandals. On this evidence ₹1,499 is a reference price, not a price anyone pays.
- Printed MRP
- ₹1,499
- Selling price
- ₹749
- Gap
- 50% below MRP
- Checked on
- 22 August 2026
There is a bigger catch. Paragon’s core range — the ₹150 to ₹400 hawai behind most of those 14 crore pairs — is not on the brand’s site at all. It moves through 550 to 800 distributors and roughly 200,000 outlets. Shelf price and online price are different worlds.
Who Paragon is actually for
Paragon suits the buyer who wants working chappals or school shoes under ₹500 and does not care whose name is on them. The soles are moulded, the sizing is consistent, and a replacement sits in the next lane.
It is not for anyone shopping on brand. Paragon is often called India’s largest footwear maker, and that is wrong. Relaxo sold 17.5 crore pairs on ₹2,702.16 crore of revenue in FY26, from audited disclosures, against Paragon’s claimed 14 crore and rated revenue of ₹1,659.24 crore. Paragon’s own executive claims only a top-three place. Sparx, one brand inside Relaxo, is about two-thirds the size of the whole Paragon group.
| Measure | Paragon | Relaxo |
|---|---|---|
| Latest revenue | ₹1,659.24 crore, FY25 | ₹2,702.16 crore, FY26 |
| Pairs a year | About 14 crore, claimed | 17.5 crore, disclosed |
| Revenue per pair | About ₹119, our arithmetic | ₹153, company-stated |
| Exclusive stores | About 70, March 2026 | 429 |
| Accounts | Rating-agency submissions | Audited and public |
Anyone spending more should look elsewhere: Campus averages ₹674 a pair, over five times Paragon’s realisation. Bata is the mirror image of Paragon, running about 2,000 stores while making almost nothing itself.
Reputation and controversies
Two years of losses that went unreported
Paragon is written about as a quietly profitable family business. The filed numbers say otherwise: a standalone loss of ₹66.12 crore in FY23 and an audited loss of ₹37.02 crore in FY24, before ₹37.08 crore of profit in FY25.
The rating history matches. The group held CARE A− in March 2018, sat at BBB+ with a stable outlook in April 2024, and reached BBB+ with a positive outlook only on 1 July 2025. Its unaudited FY24 submission had shown a ₹1.65 crore profit; the audit found that loss.
The trademark case Paragon lost
On 7 January 2025 the Madras High Court dismissed Paragon’s appeal against Paragon Engineers of Chennai, which has used a Paragon mark on electric motor starters since 1986. The footwear company argued from its 1975 adoption of the name and from the mark being declared well-known in 2017.
The court held that a well-known mark’s cross-class protection is prospective, not retrospective, so later fame cannot beat an honest earlier user. “Paragon” in court reporting often means that Chennai firm; in stock coverage it usually means Paragon 28, an unrelated American implant maker.
A fire hit a Paragon godown in Kochi on 20 February 2019, with no injuries reported. Nothing else surfaced in our searching, which is an absence of findings rather than a clean record.
Buying it in India
Paragon publishes no anti-counterfeit guidance: no hologram, no QR check, no page on spotting a fake, and we found no seizure report naming Paragon fakes. This audit prints no physical tells it cannot source, so the checks below cover channel and price.
Buy the core range in a shop
The store carried fifteen items on 22 August 2026 and no hawai at all. That stock reaches buyers only through distributors and shops.
Ignore the printed MRP
Half the online range sits 50% or more below MRP as a standing price. “70% off” a ₹1,499 tag is near the everyday ₹749 price.
Set a price floor
Paragon realises roughly ₹119 a pair ex-factory, on our arithmetic. A boxed pair well under ₹150 is old stock, a second, or fake.
Read the entity name on the box
Paragon reaches the trade through Elastrex Polymers and Preston India as well as Paragon Polymer Products. More than one company name on a genuine box is normal.
Price Eeken against the store
The company calls Eeken a ₹800 to ₹1,500 range. It sold at ₹466 to ₹752 on Paragon’s own site on 22 August 2026.
No listing we could find publishes a full Legal Metrology declaration for a Paragon box — the packer name and address that would settle which group company is responsible for a pair. Myntra’s Paragon page was down on 22 August 2026 as well. The declaration is printed on the box itself, so if it matters to you, read it at the counter before you pay.
Common questions
Is Paragon an Indian brand?
Yes. Paragon began in Kottayam, Kerala in 1975, and the company that owns it was incorporated there on 27 July 1990. An extended Kerala family holds it privately, with no foreign or private-equity owner on record.
Is Paragon India’s largest footwear maker?
No. Relaxo sold 17.5 crore pairs on ₹2,702.16 crore of revenue in FY26, from audited disclosures. Paragon claims about 14 crore pairs on rated revenue of ₹1,659.24 crore, and its own executive claims only a top-three place.
Why is Paragon so cheap?
Because it realises roughly ₹119 a pair, which suits moulded rubber and EVA rather than stitched construction. It owns its plants and sells through about 200,000 outlets, so it carries very little retail cost.
Are Paragon shoes faked?
We found no seizure or enforcement report naming Paragon counterfeits, and Paragon publishes no authentication guidance. Faking a slipper worth about ₹119 wholesale leaves little margin, which is an argument rather than a fact.
How we research and verify brand audits: our methodology.
References
- CARE Ratings press release, 1 July 2025 — FY25 revenue and profit, audited FY24 loss, 16.5 crore capacity, 4.5 lakh pairs a day, four plant locations, combined rating of four group companies, rating upgrade
- CARE Ratings press release, 17 April 2024 — FY23 loss of ₹66.12 crore, 4 lakh pairs a day, unaudited FY24 figures
- CARE Ratings press release, 27 March 2018 — trading since 1975, the 5 lakh pairs a day claim, CARE A− rating
- MCA registry data, Paragon Polymer Products Pvt Ltd — incorporation on 27 July 1990, Kottayam registered office, directors
- Paragon Footwear, About Us, accessed 22 August 2026 — 1975 start at 1,500 pairs a day, four facilities, outsourcing in Calicut and Delhi, 4 lakh pairs a day, 14 crore pairs a year, distributor count
- Paragon Footwear, Legal Compliance, accessed 22 August 2026 — the company behind the online store, Kottayam and Bengaluru addresses
- Paragon Footwear product feed, 22 August 2026 — every MRP and selling price here, fifteen items listed, India country of origin
- Deccan Herald, 22 March 2026 — 26 manufacturing units across four cities, 5 lakh pairs a day, about 70 exclusive stores, the Eeken price band
- Indian Retailer, 10 June 2025 — 800+ distributors and over 200,000 multi-brand outlets, 14 crore pairs a year
- Bizz Buzz, 25 March 2024 — sole materials, the brand line-up, the executive’s “top 3” claim
- Conventus Law, 13 May 2025 — Paragon Polymer Products formerly known as M/s Paragon Rubber Industries
- Dodd & Co case note, Madras High Court, 7 January 2025 — the trademark appeal Paragon lost, and the respondent’s use since 1986
- The IP Press, 11 February 2025 — well-known-mark protection held to be prospective only
- Scroll.in, 20 February 2019 — the godown fire in Kochi, no injuries reported
- Relaxo Footwears, Q1 FY27 investor presentation — 17.5 crore pairs, ₹2,702.16 crore FY26 revenue, ₹153 average price, 429 exclusive stores, Sparx share of revenue
At ₹188 to ₹752 on its own store, and lower on the hawai range that never reaches it, Paragon does the job it sets out to do. Roughly ₹119 of revenue per pair is a manufacturing business, not a brand premium, and a ₹250 chappal needs no defending.
What deserves scepticism is what is said about the company, not the product. Its output claim has moved between 4 lakh and 5 lakh pairs a day across eight years of its own statements. The “India’s largest” line is false while Relaxo sells 17.5 crore pairs to Paragon’s claimed 14 crore. And ₹103.14 crore of losses across FY23 and FY24 appear in no consumer article about it.
Trust the ₹250 slipper, not the ₹1,499 MRP and not one output number the company quotes about itself.
