Foot Locker India is two years old this month. Its first store opened on 19 October 2024 at Nexus Select Citywalk in Saket, 4,888 sq ft of Nike, adidas Originals, PUMA, New Balance, ASICS and FILA. Two years on, the latest count from its Indian operator is six stores across the whole country. Six in March 2026. Six again at the end of June.
That is not the rollout anyone expected from a name as big as Foot Locker. So here is the question this piece answers: should Indian sneakerheads shop at Foot Locker, or keep their money with the boutiques? And why has the store count stalled?
Two Years, Six Stores: What Actually Happened
Foot Locker does not run its Indian stores itself. Metro Brands, the company behind Metro Shoes, Mochi and Walkway, signed a long-term licence with Foot Locker in late 2023 and operates the stores, while Nykaa Fashion runs the online side. The Saket opening was covered by Indian Retailer, which also reported a launch night on 18 October with more than 150 sneaker people in the room.
After that, the openings came slowly. In July 2025, Retail4Growth reported a store of about 6,700 sq ft at DLF Mall of India in Noida. Two Mumbai-region stores followed in September 2025, at Sky City Mall in Borivali and Viviana Mall in Thane. In December 2025, Franchise India reported Bengaluru's first, a 3,333 sq ft store at Nexus Mall stocking Nike, Jordan, adidas, PUMA, New Balance, FILA and New Era.
The count comes straight from Metro's investor presentation of August 2026. End of March 2025: one Foot Locker store. End of March 2026: six. End of June 2026: still six. Metro ran 1,041 stores in total by then, which makes Foot Locker less than one percent of its network.
The Reason Is Three Letters: BIS
Metro has been saying this from the start. In a January 2025 investor presentation, it wrote that "due to supply chain related concerns after BIS implementation, we are cautious on the store expansion", with visibility of adding "only 2-3 Foot Locker stores over next 6-9 months." The August 2026 deck repeats the point: BIS challenges faced by "select external brands" hit supply chain readiness, so new stores are on a cautious path.
A quick explainer. India's footwear quality control order, issued under the BIS Act, says covered footwear must be certified to Indian standards before it is sold here. Foot Locker sells imported global brands, so each overseas factory needs that certification before its pairs can hit an Indian shelf. Boutiques can live with a few gaps in the wall. A 5,000 sq ft store built around full brand walls cannot.
The latest numbers say nothing has changed. Metro reported its July to September quarter on 15 October: revenue of ₹730 crore, up 12.2%, with 21 stores opened and nine closed across all its brands, according to the Free Press Journal. A day later, Prabhudas Lilladher's note recorded that "Foot Locker expansion remains constrained by BIS-related supply challenges, with store additions aligned to product availability and supply-chain readiness." Emkay Global's note the same day said BIS issues "continue to constrain supply readiness and expansion for Foot Locker and MetroActiv", and cut its target price partly on the slower ramp-up of Foot Locker, FILA and Walkway.
The Case for Foot Locker India
It is authentic, it is big, and it is in malls you already visit. You walk in, try three brands in your size, and leave with a receipt from a listed company. For parents buying a first pair of Jordans, that matters more than any drop calendar. The online store, run with Nykaa Fashion, extends the range, and its front page currently lists Nike, Jordan, adidas, PUMA, New Balance, ASICS, Skechers, New Era, Crocs and FILA, with FLX Rewards for repeat buyers.
The stores also look like Foot Locker. Store fronts in the Mumbai region and Bengaluru carry the name in Devanagari and Kannada next to the English, which is a small touch that says the chain wants to belong here rather than visit.
The Case for the Boutiques
Six stores means most Indian cities have no Foot Locker at all. The five we could trace through public announcements sit in Delhi NCR, the Mumbai region and Bengaluru. And a chain whose own operator calls its supply "constrained" is not where limited pairs land first. When an Indian store gets its own adidas collab, as Superkicks did with this year's Samba "Heirloom", it is a boutique, not Foot Locker.
Price will not decide it either. Brands set the MRP, so what actually separates one store from another is the sales, how deep the size runs go, and who gets the pairs you want first.
What We Would Actually Do
Use Foot Locker India for general releases and running shoes, especially if you live near Saket, Noida, Borivali, Thane or Koramangala. Try on in store, check the Nykaa-run site for your size, and collect the FLX points. Keep the boutiques for anything limited.
Our honest take on the stall? It is frustrating, but it is not a failure. BIS is doing what it was designed to do, which is make global brands prove their factories before they sell here. A 2026 amendment pushed one key deadline under the footwear quality order to 31 July 2027, and we explained what it means for imports in our BIS extension explainer. Until supply settles, expect Foot Locker India to add stores in single digits, not dozens.
Two years in, Foot Locker India is a good mall store with a supply problem it did not create. If you want the pairs it cannot stock yet, see what we have in stock.
For the bigger picture on who sells Nike online in India now, read what Nike's move to Nykaa means for sneakerheads, or compare stores in our guide to authentic sneaker stores in India.
