Metro Brands Limited, one of India’s largest footwear specialty retailers, has appointed Ariff Bham as AVP – Business Head, Sports Division, as the company accelerates its strategic expansion into India’s booming sports and athleisure market.
A decade-plus into his career, Bham has built and scaled international brands across luxury, lifestyle and premium retail. His journey began on the shopfloor at Diesel — the ground zero of real retail — before going on to lead launches and business operations for brands such as Brooks Brothers, Salvatore Ferragamo, Thomas Pink, Villeroy & Boch, Pottery Barn and West Elm. He brings a blend of product sensibility, P&L discipline, and store operations judgment—a skillset well-timed for Metro’s next phase of category expansion.
Metro Brands: Scale, Reach and Retail Ecosystem
Metro Brands today operates a nationwide network approaching the 1,000-store milestone — reporting 928 stores across 206 cities as of June 30, 2025, with continued rollouts in FY26 bringing the count closer to four digits.
Its portfolio includes in-house brands (Metro, Mochi, Walkway) and exclusive / strategic partnerships with global names including Crocs, FitFlop, Clarks, Skechers, and Fila — along with the recently introduced Foot Locker, brought to India in partnership with Nykaa Fashion, marking Metro Brands’ entry into the global sneaker culture movement.
MetroActiv: The Multi-Brand Sports Play
Metro Brands recently unveiled MetroActiv, a new multi-brand athletic footwear and sportswear destination designed to serve India’s rapidly rising active lifestyle consumer.
MetroActiv brings together global performance leaders such as Nike, adidas, Puma, ASICS, Skechers, New Balance, FILA, and New Era under one experiential, guided, community-first retail environment.
Launching soon in Indore, Jodhpur and Dehradun, alongside its e-commerce platform www.metroactiv.com, MetroActiv aims to serve consumers who run, train, walk, commute, and live in movement — reflecting how sportswear today extends beyond athletics into identity, comfort, and everyday expression.
“MetroActiv represents the natural evolution of Metro Brands Limited’s commitment to innovation and consumer-centricity. This is not just the launch of another retail format; it’s the beginning of a movement to get India active,” said Nissan Joseph, CEO, Metro Brands Limited.
MetroActiv’s footprint strategy aligns with omnichannel rollouts, localized assortment planning, and community-based engagement, signaling Metro Brands’ entry into the competitive performance and athleisure ecosystem—not just footwear retail.
Financial & Market Context
Metro Brands remains one of India’s most valuable publicly listed retail groups, with a market capitalization in the ~₹300–340 billion range through late-2025.
Consistent expansion, strong gross margins, and store productivity discipline provide self-funding advantage as MetroActiv scales across Tier 1–3 markets.
Why Ariff Bham’s Role is Strategically Significant
- Curation & Brand Balance: Aligning global performance brands with India-specific movement culture
- Store Economics: Maintaining productivity and disciplined rollout economics as format scales
- Community Engagement: Sports retail thrives on belonging — running clubs, training circles, sneaker communities
- Identity & Culture: Sportswear is now a lifestyle category, not a functional one
Bottom Line
Metro Brands is no longer merely a footwear retailer — it is positioning itself as a movement builder in India’s fast-growing sports and athleisure culture.
With a near-1,000 store network, strong strategic brand partnerships including Foot Locker, and the launch of MetroActiv, the company is constructing a multi-format, performance-first retail ecosystem.
Ariff Bham’s appointment signals the operational drive to take that strategy from concept to scale — from store launches to community adoption, from shelves to culture.
