From One Shop in Chitpur to Every Indian Step: The Enduring Story of Khadim

Kolkata in 1965 was a city of contradictions. Grand in its colonial architecture, rich in its literary and intellectual heritage, and yet deeply familiar with struggle — with the grinding, daily challenge of a population that needed everything from housing to food to the most basic of life's necessities, affordably and reliably. It was into this city, in this year, that a man named Satya Prasad Roy Burman walked into a small shoe shop in Chitpur — one of Kolkata's oldest and most bustling commercial neighbourhoods — and decided to buy it.

The shop was called KM Khadim & Company. It was modest. It was humble. It was, by any measure, an unremarkable acquisition. But Satya Prasad Roy Burman — fondly known in his community as 'Barobabu', meaning 'elder gentleman' — was not an unremarkable man.

He had grown up amidst the challenges of Kolkata, found his way to Mumbai for a period, and worked briefly in a shoe store there. That small chapter — a young man learning the grain of leather, the rhythm of a retail floor, the logic of what ordinary people needed on their feet — would quietly shape the next half century of his life. He returned to Kolkata, walked into Chitpur, and bought a shop whose name would one day be spoken in 23 states across India.

The Wholesale Years: Building the Foundation Quietly

For nearly three decades after that 1965 acquisition, Khadim was not what most people today would recognise. It was a wholesaling and distribution business — supplying branded, basic utility footwear to retailers across West Bengal and neighbouring regions.

These years were not glamorous. They were operational. Disciplined. Essential.

Satya Prasad Roy Burman understood something fundamental about his customers: they needed footwear that was durable, functional, and priced within the reach of ordinary Indian households. Not luxury. Not fashion. Just shoes that would hold up, fit well, and not drain a family's budget.

He built Khadim's wholesale identity around that insight — and in doing so, became what one account described as the go-to shoe wholesaler in West Bengal and the surrounding regions. He was not chasing the top end of the market. He was serving the heart of it.

In 1981, the business was formally incorporated as a company — initially named S. N. Footwear Industries Private Limited. A foundation that had been built through years of wholesale trade now had a legal structure. The next chapter was about to begin.

1993: The Year Everything Changed

India in 1993 was a country in transformation. The economic liberalisation of 1991 had begun to open markets, attract investment, and change the retail landscape at a pace no one had fully anticipated.

Satya Prasad Roy Burman read that moment correctly. In 1993, Khadim made the decisive shift from wholesale distribution to retail — opening its first exclusive retail store in Kolkata.

It was the beginning of a new identity. From a business that supplied shoes to other shops, Khadim became a brand that looked its customers in the eye, stood behind its products directly, and offered something the Indian footwear market had rarely seen at accessible price points: a consistent, trustworthy retail experience.

The timing was right. The execution was determined. And the results spoke for themselves.

Around this same period, Siddhartha Roy Burman — Satya Prasad's son, who had joined his father after completing his commerce graduation in 1980 — was deepening his involvement in the company. The son brought fresh energy and a systematic approach to what his father had built on instinct and experience. Together, they were preparing Khadim for something much larger than a single city could contain.

A Son's Vision, a Nation's Footwear

Through the 1990s and into the 2000s, Khadim expanded steadily and deliberately. It moved deeper into East and Northeast India first — consolidating its home territory before looking elsewhere.

Then, in 2000, came the move that would define Khadim's national ambitions: the first store in South India. A brand born in Kolkata's Chitpur was now planting a flag in the south — and it would grow to become one of the top three players in the southern market.

The 2000s brought structural transformation. Khadim revamped its business model to integrate manufacturing, retail, sales, supply chain, brand management, human resources, finance, and technology under a single operational umbrella. It established a manufacturing facility in Kolkata's Kasba Industrial Estate, which became operational in 2002 — ISO 9001:2015 certified — and a second unit in Kanpur, extending its production capability into North India.

In 2005, reflecting the scale and national ambition it had acquired, the company officially changed its name from Khadim Chain Stores Limited to Khadim India Limited.

The name said it plainly: this was no longer a Kolkata story. This was an India story.

Nine Brands, One Mission

What set Khadim apart from many footwear retailers of its era was not just its reach but its range. Under the single Khadim umbrella, the company developed nine home-grown sub-brands — each targeting a distinct customer segment, lifestyle, and price point.

Pro addressed the sports and athletic segment. Lazard offered premium styling. Softouch brought comfort-first design. Cleo, Sharon, Bonito, and Adrianna served women across different occasions. British Walker targeted formal, professional wear. Turk rounded out the portfolio for casual and everyday use.

Together, these sub-brands allowed Khadim to serve a single family across every member's needs — the working father in formal shoes, the school-going child in durable footwear, the daughter looking for a stylish sandal, the mother seeking comfortable everyday wear. The retail price range spanned from ₹77 to ₹3,599, reflecting the brand's commitment to accessibility without abandoning aspiration.

"Affordable fashion for everyone" was not a tagline. It was an operating principle embedded in every product decision the company made.

The Franchise Model That Scaled the Dream

By the time Khadim filed for its Initial Public Offering in November 2017, it had 853 exclusive retail stores across 23 states and one Union Territory — making it the second largest footwear retailer in India by number of exclusive store locations.

Of those 853 stores, 168 were company-owned and operated. The remaining 685 were franchisee-operated — a network that Khadim had built deliberately, carefully, and at remarkable scale. It was the largest footwear retail franchisee network in India.

This franchise model was one of Khadim's most significant strategic achievements. Rather than stretching its own capital to build every store in every city, it empowered local entrepreneurs across India to run Khadim-branded outlets — giving them a proven brand, a supply chain, and operational support, while giving Khadim the reach that no company-owned network of affordable retail could have financed alone.

The IPO itself was a ₹543.06 crore issue, priced at ₹750 per share. On 14 November 2017, Khadim India Limited was listed on both the BSE and the NSE. A shop in Chitpur had become a publicly traded company. Satya Prasad Roy Burman, who had passed away in December 2013 at the age of 83, had lived to see his business grow to over 600 stores. The listing was the next chapter written by those who came after him.

The Third Generation and a New Direction

Leadership at Khadim has always been generational. Satya Prasad Roy Burman built it. His son Siddhartha Roy Burman scaled it. And now Rittick Roy Burman — the third generation of the Roy Burman family — has stepped into the role of Managing Director with effect from April 2025, as Siddhartha transitions to the role of Executive Chairman.

The business itself is also entering a new phase. With effect from 1 April 2025, Khadim completed the demerger of its distribution business and manufacturing segments into a wholly-owned subsidiary, KSR Footwear Limited. The strategic intent is clear: Khadim India, the listed entity, will now operate as a pure-play retail business — leaner, more focused, better positioned to invest in the customer experience and brand building that the next decade demands.

KSR Footwear Limited, which manages three manufacturing facilities in West Bengal including the Kasba Industrial Estate unit, the Panpur Factory, and the Serampore Factory, will continue to supply the Khadim retail network while operating as a separate, dedicated manufacturing entity.

The company is also exploring quick commerce partnerships with platforms like Zepto for utility products such as school shoes and EVA slippers, and planning to add approximately 50 new stores in FY2025-26 — primarily in Eastern and Southern India — maintaining its 80:20 franchise-to-company-owned ratio.

Sixty Years, One Belief

Satya Prasad Roy Burman once said something that captures the spirit of everything Khadim has been: "More than being a manufacturer, I love to manufacture manufacturers."

It was a line about philosophy, not production. He was speaking about the small shoe entrepreneurs he had mentored, the franchise partners he had empowered, the workforce he had built — but the sentiment extended to everything Khadim touched. It was never about building a business for its own sake. It was about building something that made things possible for others.

That belief — that quality footwear should be within reach of every Indian family, that a trusted brand should not be a luxury, that scale and affordability can coexist — has been Khadim's north star for sixty years.

From a single shop in Chitpur to nearly 900 exclusive retail stores across India. From one man's vision in 1965 to a publicly listed company passing into its third generation of leadership in 2025. From wholesale supply to retail presence, from East India to the nation, from one sub-brand to nine.

Khadim's mission has never changed: to be in every Indian step.

It is getting closer every year.