Plaeto, India’s first footwear brand focused on the foot-health of children, announced its global foray with its entry into the UAE market today. The Bengaluru-based company has partnered with Threads, UAE’s premier and largest retailer for school uniforms, shoes, and accessories.
Plaeto’s black and white school shoes, in three different lacing methods are available in Threads stores at Times Square Mall, City Mall, BurJuman Mall, Abu Dhabi, Ras-Al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Fujairah. The shoes are also available online at www.threadsme.com.
Over the coming months, Plaeto is looking at aggressive growth in the UAE market. The plan is to further explore retail and distribution partnerships for its growing range of shoes for children aged 5-15 years.
Commenting on the international expansion, Ravi Kallayil, CEO & Co-founder, Plaeto, said, “We are excited to enter the UAE market. We will be catering to all the key regions across the Emirates through the Threads stores as well as their online store. Given that Threads has been a market leader in retail, and especially in the school uniforms and shoes space, we consider ourselves to be truly fortunate to find product fit and brand resonance this early in our global journey. At Plaeto, we believe that ‘play’ and ‘school life’ are integral to the growth of children anywhere in the world, and we are pleased to partner with Threads to serve the children in UAE.”
Threads is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of school and corporate uniforms in the UAE. They service about 90 schools, and have 2,00,000 clients through their diversified chain of businesses in security, transport, hotels, and restaurants. The company also offers end-to-end services in design, manufacturing, distribution, and retail.
Jacques Rheeder, CEO, Threads, said, “Over the last 12 years, Threads has been catering specifically to educational institutions in the Middle East. We are delighted to partner with Plaeto, an Indian brand, which has designed world-class shoes for children, leveraging the collective product experience of some of the finest footwear design teams from brands such as Nike and Adidas. At Threads, our motto is ‘Dressing up the future world leaders’ and we believe that Plaeto shoes are a great fit for the children of UAE.”
Launched in 2021, Plaeto has conducted in-depth research to understand the link between children’s footwear, its impact on inclination towards play, and the subsequent effects on health and well-being.
Plaeto shoes are not just protective of growing feet, but also kinder to the planet. Their carbon footprint is 6.5 kg CO2 equivalent/pair, about 50% lower than an average athletic footwear. Extending their sustainability goals to packaging also, the shoes come in a reusable cloth bag, instead of single-use cardboard boxes. Plaeto’s brand purpose, coupled with its sustainability-conscious approach, are key reasons why it has been finding high resonance with an ever-growing customer base since its launch in October 2021.
The Bengaluru based brand’s founding team consists of erstwhile top executives from Nike, Adidas, and Apple. Last year, Plaeto announced Rahul Dravid, sports icon and Team India cricket coach, as their brand ambassador and strategic advisor in their mission of helping children to discover the joy of ‘play’ in their lives. He promotes the idea of students being given great footwear to support all their active needs, leading to their well-rounded holistic development.
Partnering with Threads, the Plaeto team looks forward to bringing in their core brand principles to serve the feet of over a million students in the UAE and bring the joy of play into their lives.
