Faraz Mirza, Whole-time Director at Mirza International Limited, is part of the next generation taking forward a footwear and leather business built over nearly five decades.
The company traces its roots to Kanpur, where Irshad Mirza and Rashid Ahmed Mirza founded the business in 1979 as a small tannery. Over the years, Mirza International expanded from leather processing into footwear manufacturing, exports, retail and consumer brands, building integrated operations across Kanpur and Noida.
Faraz joined the board in August 2023, at an important stage in the group’s consumer business. Two months later, in October 2023, Thomas Crick was launched in India, bringing a British footwear heritage brand into the Indian market with Mirza International’s manufacturing and leather expertise behind it.
The brand has since scaled rapidly. Thomas Crick recorded ₹11 crore in sales in FY25-26, representing approximately 120% year-on-year growth. It has also expanded beyond e-commerce into offline retail through its partnership with Trends.
The brand’s approach combines British-inspired footwear design with an Indian manufacturing ecosystem built through decades of experience in leather and footwear.
For Faraz, the journey is part of a broader transformation within the family enterprise. What began in 1979 as a tannery has developed into a business with capabilities spanning tanning, footwear manufacturing, exports, retail and consumer brands.
Today, Mirza International’s manufacturing and leather capabilities provide the foundation for brands such as Thomas Crick, while Faraz represents a newer, consumer-focused approach to building on that foundation.
His role reflects the challenge faced by many legacy family businesses: preserving decades of manufacturing expertise while adapting to changing consumers, new retail channels and modern brand-building.
For Mirza International, the next chapter is therefore not about leaving its past behind. It is about using nearly five decades of experience to build what comes next.
