Bata spreads retail footprint, plans to enter more MBOs

Bata wants to expand its reach across multi-brand footwear outlets in India. As of now, it is present in some 15,000 multi-brand outlets—those that sell different footwear brands under one roof—out of the 75,000 such organized shoe stores in the country. For some footwear brands, such MBOs constitute about half their sales.

Bata, India’s largest shoe retailer, sells brands such as Power, Hush Puppies, and Bata. Since its entry into India in the 1930s, Bata has built a massive retail network by opening stores in some of the country’s busiest markets, small towns and malls. It reaches Indians living in more than 500 towns. While Bata’s large footprint of exclusive and franchise stores will continue to generate the bulk of growth for it, distribution and MBO outlets will add to the sales push. Bata sold 47 million pairs of shoes in fiscal ’18.

Bata’s effort to push products to more shoppers comes amid an on-going recalibration of the shoe-maker’s business in India. Over the last two years, Bata has been ramping up its business to appeal to younger Indian shoppers. It has increased the number of product launches to 600 or 700 a season—Bata follows two fashion cycles in a year. The range is changing much faster.