Bata, the shoe people, their shops and their marketing (whose brands include Hush Puppies, Dr. Scholls, North Star, Power, Marie Claire and Bubblegummers) are so prolific in India that on my first trip to the country four years ago I wondered if it was an Indian origin company. Having maintained a presence in India for over seven decades, it is no surprise that Indian folk consider Bata an Indian enterprise, and I understand that the people of Pakistan feel the same way.
Eighth generation cobbler of Czechoslovakia, Mr Tomas Bata, set up the Bata Shoe Company in the Czech town of Zlin in 1894, and was pioneering the first fabric shoes into production by 1897. In true entrepreneurial fashion Bata proceeded to construct schools, houses, stores and hospitals near his factories to support his growing staff by 1917; and had introduced the “Bata System” of organising operations into autonomous workshops with employee profit sharing by 1923. The Bata School of Work was founded to provide education and practical training to future Bata managers in that same period.
In 1932 Tomas Bata dies tragically in a plane crash. The helm of the company is passed over to his then 18 year old son, Thomas Bata, at the time of the impending nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia. As Thomas expanded the company, initially to escape the Nazi's and later the communists, he arrived in an undivided India in the early 1930's. Thomas Bata's life long love affair with the country began then.
The first Bata factory was set up in India in 1931. Bata soon became a household name in the subcontinent with operations in eponymous towns such as Batanagar, Bataganj and Batapur (the latter of which is in the now Pakistan). Lacking an organised footwear industry in the early days, India fast became (and remains to this day) a favoured market for Bata - despite its operations having expanded to a total of 50 countries. When the company went public in 1973, the Indian leg of Bata changed its name to Bata India Limited.
Bata has long been recognised as being a "superbrand" within India. Anmol Dar, Managing Director of Superbrands India worked through over 700 shortlisted consumer brands in India, before selecting the winning "superbrands" as those which had a perceived brand image plus the brands mind share, goodwill, consumer loyalty, trust and emotional bonding. Yes, India is emotionally involved with Bata.
In the 75 years that Bata have been in India, they have captured 35% market share in the organised footwear sector, being 8.5% of the country's total footwear market, through its 1,250 stores. Almost 98% of Bata India's revenue is from the domestic market, selling over 45 million pairs of shoes every year, with an estimated turnover of more than USD 178 million.
Thomas Bata and his wife Sonja maintained a life long passion for India, visiting several times a year from their now home in Canada. The soft spoken entrepreneur was in India earlier this year holding the international board meeting for the Bata organisation in Batanagar, Kolkata. During the same trip the sprightly 93 year old also managed to set up two world-class factories in Bihar.
In Toronto, Canada the couples love of India is apparent in their Bata Shoe Museum. Shoe treasures and memorabilia include gold and silver Indian padukas hundreds of years old in their extensive indian collection. The pair of shoes Mrs Indira Gandhi was wearing when she was assassinated by her bodyguards in Pakistan have also made their way to the museum, as a gift from Rajiv Gandhi.
An interesting story from the Bata Shoe Museum: held in the collection were a pair of bejeweled slippers belonging to a Nizam of Hyderabad, which Sonja Bata had purchased in 1999 from a collector in Hong Kong. Encrusted with diamonds, rubies and emeralds, embroidered with real gold thread, the slippers were valued at USD 160,000. The slippers were stolen from the museum. To Thomas and Sonja Bata, they were priceless being a piece of history from their beloved India. The theft caused a national outrage in Canada and the thief (presumably with tail between his legs) promptly returned the slippers to the museum!
Thomas Bata was honoured in 2007 for his contributions to Indian-Canadian ties. The self effacing Bata who was known to refer to himself as 'just a ninth generation cobbler' was quoted as saying "I am grateful to India as it is the country that has provided me the opportunity to serve its billion people by letting me put shoes on their feet!"
Thomas Bata passed away on September 1st 2008 in Canada at the age of 93.
Rest in Peace Mr Bata.
You have certainly left your footprint on India.
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