Bata India is betting on premium products, improving in-store experience and increasing promotional spends to help combat what its chairman Uday Khanna said was among its biggest challenges: attracting millenials and staying contemporary.
In a post AGM interaction, he said the company’s recent marketing initiative labelled Red Angela Store concept has begun rolling out from Kolkata and is being extended to other company–owned and company-operated shops across India. It aims to attract the youth with a spacious modern store, with a separate section for accessories and with a distinct red and white Bata identity. “We are moving into a new phase.”
Widening reach
The shoemaker will add about 100 new retail stores and 50 franchisee stores this year, he said. CEO Sandeep Kataria said ‘contemporising’ the brand, widening distribution reach beyond the present 400 towns and increased focus on advertising were priorities.“There is opportunity to take franchisee stores to 500 [from 100 now],” he said.
Mr. Khanna said the emphasis would be both on volume and premiumisation. The e-commerce base would also widened.Bata had recently listed products on high traffic generating websites like Tata Cliq, ShopClues, GoFynd and LimeRoad. More than 8.9 lakh pairs were sold online clocking ₹87 crore in turnover (annual turnover at ₹2,636 crore in 2071-18). Bata India sells 4.8 crore pairs annually.
Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, president, South Asia, Bata Group, said the cornerstone of Bata’s strategy on becoming a contemporary brand was a strong focus on internationally designed collections, introduction of global store formats and right marketing initiatives.
