Bata reports profit rise in Q1, to focus on ecommerce for growth

Footwear major Bata India, which has reportedly been facing tough competition from physical as well as online footwear players, managed to report a 55.2 percent rise in net profit at Rs 92.2 crores for the first quarter ended June 30. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 59.4 crores during the same period of the previous fiscal. Net sales increased to Rs 680.4 crores against Rs 622 crores during the same period of previous fiscal, Bata India said in a BSE filing.

“The supply chain issues have now been resolved and we are on the growth trajectory with many new initiatives planned for the coming year,” Bata India, Group Managing Director, South Asia, Rajeev Gopalakrishnan said. The company will now expand product offerings under the brand, while focussing on the same store growth as well as its e-commerce business with also exclusive 500 lines to expand its reach to the consumers residing even in smaller Indian towns. The company has also relaunched Bata.in and M-wallet mode of payment.

“We invest about Rs 80-100 crores every year. We also aim to open 100 stores every year. This trend will continue. We will spend money to revamp manufacturing factories, vendor development and category expansion for special needs shoes and non-footwear business. Online business is witnessing exponential growth. At present, 90 percent of e-commerce business is from third-party platfroms such as Amazon, Myntra and Flipkart. Last year, we sold 2 lakh pairs via online. This year, we aim to sell 10 lakh pairs,” added Gopalakrishnan.