Case Study of Bata

People love to show their love of fashion as a way of life. Style is not simply confined to clothing; it also involves footwear and other items that boost one's overall personality look. By offering us a view of the person's outlook on life, it also represents their mood.

In clothing and footwear, fashion is seen as a significant industry. One of the most engaging and exciting sectors in the modern world, we may say, is fashion. Thanks to the industry's comprehensive platform, a wide range of designs and trends are accessible. As a result, the fashion sectors that deal with footwear and clothes have seen considerable success.

The Bata Corporation is a worldwide maker and retailer of footwear, clothes, and fashion accessories headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The business's founders were of Moravian origin. Anna Baová, Tom Baa, and Anton Baa formed the company on August 24, 1894.

For over 120 years, the Bata Group has provided consumers worldwide with amazing shoes at the most acceptable prices, backed by unrivalled service. As a result, the business is now among the world's top producers and sellers of high-quality shoes.

More than 32,000 workers, 21 production sites, and more than 5,300 retailers make up Bata's global footprint in more than 70 locations. The business enjoys enhancing each community's quality of life. Bata values assisting its clients, associates, and society at large and providing professional and personal growth opportunities.

During World War I, Bata shoe sales increased.

1914, the year when World War I began, saw remarkable growth in the sector due to military demands. Between 1914 and 1918, Bata's workforce multiplied ten times. The company has established outlets in Plzen, Vienna, Liberec, Zlin, and other places.

The growth of the Bata Shoe Company after the war

The price cut sparked a strong consumer response. Between 1923 and 1925, a demand slump drove the majority of rivals out of business, but Bata thrived as demand for their low-cost shoes skyrocketed. Both output and workforce at the Bata Shoe Company increased. Zlin has been developed into a proper manufacturing town spanning many hectares, dubbed "Batesville."

By integrating social welfare with the automated efficiency of the industry, Bata paved the path for the modernisation of industrial management. His early experiments with collectivism and profit-sharing also paved the way for this. Bata Shoes also had a theatre, library, department store, dance halls, espresso bars, swimming pool, airstrip, staff housing, schools, businesses, and a hospital.

The emergence of Bata on a global scale

When Tomá died, the Bata corporation had 1,645 stores, 25 businesses, and 16,560 workers. Jan Antonin Bata expanded the company more than sixfold after Tom Bata's death, expanding it throughout Czechoslovakia and the rest of the world.

Bata established plants in the UK, the Netherlands, Kenya, Brazil, Canada, and the former Yugoslavia in the ensuing ten years. Finally, during the 1930s, the Calcutta facility in India was created.

Establishing Bata India Limited

Bata India was founded in 1931 as Bata Shoe Company Pvt. Ltd., then changed its name to Bata India Ltd. in 1973. The Batanagar plant received ISO 9001 accreditation in 1993, making it the nation's first factory for the production of shoes.

The largest footwear manufacturer and retailer in India is Bata India. In India, there are 1375 shops in the Bata India retail network. There are stores in decent locations in every metro, mini-metros, and town. In addition, more than 30,000 dealers in India provide services to millions of clients through the company's urban wholesale business, which also oversees a substantial non-retail distribution network.

Bata's international growth

In 1934, the firm had 300 outlets in North America, 1,000 in Asia, and over 4,000 in Europe. In 1938, the Group employed more than 65,000 people worldwide, 36% of whom worked outside of Czechoslovakia and had holdings in the coal mining, textile manufacturing, agricultural, newspaper publishing, railroad, and aviation sectors.

Bata's regrowth after World War II

Following the destruction of Bata's factory during the War, Tomas Bata's son travelled to Canada and was offered a position as vice president of the Bata Import and Export Corporation of Canada, which was established in 1939. The parent company's overseas businesses were split up, and the Moravian and Bohemian factories were handed to another family member. Following the Czechoslovakian government's takeover of Bata's operations in Eastern Europe, it was agreed in 1945 that the Bata Shoe Organization's service headquarters would be located at Bata Development Limited in Great Britain.

Thomas J. Bata, a Czech and Slovak migrant who lived in the West, was the one who started the company's rehabilitation. The company slowly reconstructed itself in its new location and grew into new markets in Asia, the Middle East, Australia, Africa, and Latin America. Rather than organising these new activities more centrally, Bata established a network of individual companies that may be more responsive to rising markets in underdeveloped nations.

Bata in the Modern Era

During the worldwide economic changes of the 1990s, the company closed some of its facilities in developed countries to focus on expanding its retail business. So, over time, Bata progressively departed Canada.

With over 32,000 workers, over 5,300 stores, 21 production sites, and a dealer network in over 70 countries across five continents, Bata estimates it serves over 1 million customers daily. India, where Bata has been active since 1931, is one of the countries with a strong Bata presence.

Bata India is made up of four plants. The Batanagar Industrial Township in Kolkata is the largest shoe producer in Asia.

There are five geographical divisions of the Bata Group: Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, India, and Europe.

Mission and Vision

Bata's mission defines its passion: "We enjoy creating unique shoes that our customers may wear all day long to look great and feel great, always with price tags that dazzle them."