Comet - India's ₹160 Cr Sneaker D2C 👟
How a 2-year-old shoe startup is creating cults?
The Comet Story 💫
Comet's niche business is valued at ~₹160 Crores, and they're making waves in India's massive ₹21,000 Crore sneaker market. A desi startup that can give foreign brands a run for their money. A market long dominated by Nike and its sub-brand Air Jordan had a 34% market share in 2023. So, what has this startup cracked? Let's dive in.
But, what’s with the sneaker hype?
The sneaker wave hit India in 2015 but the roots go back to 1984 (U.S.) — a time when Converse & Adidas ruled the sneaker market, until Nike started a brand in partnership with a 21-year-old basketball rookie— Michael Jordan — who later became a worldwide legend. This brand “Air Jordans” spread like wildfire, introducing the concept of "drops"—limited-edition releases. This, in turn, created a massive $11B sneaker reselling market, where people flip shoes for 10 to 100X the real price, depending on the hype.
What is Comet cracking then?
1. Narrow-to-wide SKU approach.
Comet’s game plan is to make only 4 shoe formats and go bonkers in color patterns. A classic DTC playbook used by many brands like WholeTruth, Mamaearth, etc. The brand wants a polarising response — you either love them or don’t.
This is counter-intuitive for a shoe brand because the reason why consumers prefer visiting a particular store (online or offline) is to get access to 100+ varieties.
Comet’s approach is simple: Enter a Few Categories → Deliver the Highest Standard → Generate Word-Of-Mouth → Enter Wider Categories. This leads to:
Faster shoe-making by factory workers.
Nail R&D without losing focus.
Serve the cult customers.
2. Cracking Affordable Positioning.
The Indian footwear market is cluttered. With every ₹1,000 range, the competition and user desire change. Comet is clear with who they’re targeting — coming for the mass premium category at a price of ₹4300 — shoes that are premium but yet, not super expensive. Comet understands its users — aspirational young folks who want to make a style fashion statement and care about positioning. The idea is simple: Offer a ₹ 10,000-looking shoe at an affordable price where the customer doesn’t overthink the purchase.
3. Creating Cults with Storytelling.
If you search Comet on YouTube– you’d see tons of reviews from sneakerheads. Comet has created a buzz through its cult — customers who are proud and end up becoming the brands’ biggest influencers.
They do this through storytelling. Add a desi touch and a second layer of meaning to each design so that users connect more to the product. Many popular shoe editions like Ludo, Mango, Jugnu, and more have a “desi” nostalgic touch. The Playbook is simple:
→ Add a second-layer idea and meaning to the product
→ Make the user resonate with it and feel special
→ Excite the user and convert them
→ Get UGC on pilot mode
That’s a wrap for now. we launched a new episode of GrowthX Wireframe, where we cover Comet in depth.
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