PUTTING THE BEST FOOTWEAR FORWARD

Bata India is the largest footwear retailer in India, offering footwear, accessories and bags across brands like Bata, Hush Puppies, Weinbrenner, and Bubblegummers, to name a few. It retails in over 1,400 Bata stores, on bata.in and in thousands of multibrand footwear dealer stores pan-India. In an exclusive conversation, CEO Sandeep Kataria sheds light on the many important aspects of the brand.

Founded in 1894, Bata is a leading shoemaker by volume. Bata has been holding a unique place in the hearts of Indians for more than 85 years. Probably the only footwear brand that offers footwear and accessories for the entire family, Bata has redefined the modern footwear industry in India. It has established a leadership position and is the most trusted name in branded footwear. It sells 48 million pairs of footwear every year and serves to over 1,20,000 customers almost every day. Here are the excerpts from the interview:

Bata is one of the pioneers of modern footwear retailing in India. In fact, in all these years there has been a drastic change in the position of the brand as well, from value to premium. How would you sum up the journey so far?

The past few years have seen massive changes where the brand has become more relatable and desirable for India’s millennials. It’s a process of measured transformation, and we are making good progress in creating a youthful, contemporary imagery for the brand. We began with transforming our retail stores, where we introduced our global design ‘Red Store Concept’, giving a new face to Bata in India. We also evolved in design space with several spectacular collections throughout the year.