Bata India to invest Rs 100 crore this year

Bata India is planning to invest Rs 100 crore in store expansion and upgradation this year.

The company would upgrade three of its plants, located in, Kolkata, Patna and Bangalore, entailing an investment of nearly Rs 50 crore, said R Gopalakrishnan, group managing director, Bata Emerging Markets, Bata India, on the sidelines of the 81st annual general meeting of the company. The three plants together manufacture 22 million pairs of shoe. The upgradation would increase the production by 10-15%, added Gopalakrishnan.

This apart, the company has chalked out a strategy to open stores in rural areas, particularly tier III and IV cities, under the franchise model. The company plans to open nearly 100 rural stores over the next 12-18 months. It has already opened about 20 such in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on a pilot basis.

'We are looking at both topline and bottomline growth. Our focus will be tier III and IV cities this year, apart from metro centres," said Gopalakrishnan.

In urban areas, the company plans to open nearly 120-130 stores this calendar year. Branch expansion would entail an investment of nearly Rs 50 crore, informed Gopalakrishnan. In 2013, the company opened 95 stores in metros and tier II and IIII cities. Last year, the company had spent nearly Rs 77 crore on expanding retail expansion and on installing new machinery and moulds at plants.

The company is also planning to open new city format stores, aimed at urban customers. This apart, in urban areas the company will open more Hush Puppies outlets.

Meanwhile, Bata India has shut the operations of its Mokama tannery, spread over 33 acres.

"We can buy leather from others, rather than processing on its own," said Gopalakrishnan.

Bata India is expecting to finish the merger of its subsidiaries, Bata Properties and Coastal Commercial & Exim (CCEL) with itself soon, added Gopalakrishnan.

The company has also set up a 30-member core committee to address issues related to quality. For this, it has tied-up with Accenture and has introduced the process of quality check in every state.

Further, to meet the norms of the new Companies Act, 2013, the company has set up a committee, which will find avenues to enhance its corporate social responsibility (CSR) spend from the current level of one% to two%, as mandated under the law.