For This Family, the Shoe Store Was Home but Now They’ve Built a Brand That Walks With India |
This article is sponsored by Sreeleathers
“My father dreamed that the common man of India would wear affordable shoes.”
When Mr Sekhar Dey speaks, the past feels alive. His family's legacy was forged through courage and a clear idea of freedom, one that includes economic dignity for all.
They built a business based on the belief that every Indian, no matter where they come from, deserves the chance to walk with their head held high.
The late Suresh Chandra Dey, an Indian freedom fighter, understood that true emancipation required more than resisting colonial rule. It demanded the building of an Indian enterprise that is self-reliant, proud, and rooted in service to the nation.
Humble in manner yet visionary in purpose, he brought this belief to fruition in 1952, when the first Sreeleathers store opened in Jamshedpur. What began as an aspiration became the foundation of a legacy that continues across four generations.
The India of the 1950s was a nation rebuilding itself slowly, seeking to reclaim its voice and purpose after centuries of subjugation.
His determination was inseparable from his revolutionary past. A close associate of Masterda Surya Sen, he had risked his life time and again in the fight for freedom. In Jalalabad, in 1930, during a fierce encounter with British forces, he was shot and narrowly escaped death. That moment could have silenced many, but for him, it deepened his resolve. “Even after surviving such a close brush with death, he became even more determined to build a Swadeshi product for the common man,” Sekhar, who is Suresh Dey's son, recalls, reflecting the unwavering spirit that would define both the man and the brand he built.
Thus, Sreeleathers was born. A Swadeshi enterprise forged in a moment when India was still learning to breathe as a free nation.
Picture Jamshedpur in the early 1950s: smokestacks rising against a fresh dawn, streets humming with the quiet optimism of a country rebuilding itself. In a modest workshop tucked between the clang of steelmaking and the rustle of verdant trees, the first Sreeleathers shoes were crafted not by machines, but by hands that believed in the dignity of Indian craftsmanship.
Check out their family journey:
Sreeleathers started its journey from Jamshedpur in 1952. "The first store was a manufacturing shop where we made our shoes with our own hands, and it took us about two weeks to make this particular shoe, and the cost of the shoe was only Rs 12,” recounts Sushanto Dey, Sekhar's son, and the third generation carrying the business forward.
When Sekhar Dey speaks of the journey of Sreeleathers, there is a steadiness in his voice, the kind that belongs to a person who has watched an idea grow into an institution.
“True leadership is measured by the legacy you leave behind, and this includes developing the next generation of leaders. My father passed the baton to me. I passed the baton to my son, Sushanto. Sushanto will pass the baton to my grandson, Swayam Dey. Sreeleathers' legacy will continue,” he says.
As India advanced, Sreeleathers evolved with it. The 1990's opened new roads,........