Bata India to expand retail footprint through franchises

Bata India is looking forward to grow its store network across the country trough franchises over the next five years. The aim is to reach out to customers across the country amid tough competition from home-grown and global footwear brands. Currently, the brand is present in about 500 cities of India and operates 1,450 company-owned and 40 franchise stores in the country.

The plan also includes enhancing product assortment under its portfolio in the outdoor category alongside ballerina, comfort and sportswear segment. Once the leader of footwear market India, Czech brand Bata, which is still looked at as an Indian company is gradually losing grounds. Bata India’s market share has slipped to almost six percent as it struggles to deal with declining revenues and profits.

For the quarter ended March 2015, Bata India’s net sales dropped one percent year-on-year to Rs 491 crores, for the second year in a row. The company’s profit for that quarter was Rs 58.43 crores, an increase of 48.3 percent over a year ago, but owing to gains from a property development project.