JOIN USLegendary footwear brand Bata Shoe Company on Thursday announced that it will open 100 stores in the country annually in the coming years, with special focus on opening larger sized stores, with areas of over 3,000 sq ft, where the company believes it will be able to retail most of its product lines under one roof.
The planned stores will primarily come up in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, where the company expects to see good growth, and all outlets the company operates will be company-owned.
According to Bata Group Managing Director (South Asia) Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, “We will invest around Rs 100 crore, 70 per cent of which will be used towards retail expansion, while the remaining 30 per cent will be kept for manufacturing-related activities.”
Bata, which has been in India for 84 years, currently has over 1,400 stores operational in most of the country’s towns and cities, with an annual revenue of Rs 2,000 crore.
A novel format that the company has come up with is the destination store, which sells the brand’s portfolio close to residential areas, where customers will be able to carefully select and buy products, since the stores provide sufficient space (6,000 sq ft) for trying them out, apart from comfortable parking facilities. The company has also planned its stores and product-lines targeting a younger customer base of around 25 years of age.
Talking to Deccan Herald, Bata Shoe Company Chairman Thomas G Bata said, “India, with its large population, makes it opportune for us to develop our market here, whenever we can. The customer base is also so diverse that we can introduce most of our new brands here and expect good sales for them,” adding that e-commerce has added tremendous prospects to expect more market for the brand’s products.
As part of its expansion, Bata opened a new multi-storied 6,000 sq ft outlet in Bengaluru on Thursday, where customers can avail the brand’s latest collections across footwear for women, men, children, as well as its exclusive accessories.