Bata has been undergoing multiple changes over the past few years. What are the big transformation pillars currently underway?
In an organisation as large and complex as ours, there is always a lot happening. The first is retail transformation through expansion and deeper penetration. We are very close to crossing a 2,000-store network in India, with an ambition to scale up to 3,000 stores over the next three to five years. This makes Bata the largest footwear retail network in the country and among the largest in fashion retail. A significant part of this expansion is coming from suburban locations and Tier-III and -IV towns, riding India’s urbanisation and consumer upgrade story.
Another major pillar is omnichannel integration. We were already strong in assisted home delivery from stores. We have now extended this by leveraging our 2,000-store network as fulfilment points for our own dotcom platform and marketplaces. Around 40 per cent of our stores are currently omnichannel-enabled, and we see no reason why this should not reach close to 100 per cent soon, delivering a phygital consumer experience.
How do you assess demand for Bata in an increasingly competitive footwear market?
Bata has been a household name in India for decades, but consumer behaviour is evolving. The biggest shift has been the casualisation of footwear, which has driven growth across categories.
For instance, Floatz, which we seeded about three years ago, is now at a ₹200 crore annualised run rate — one of the fastest ramp-ups in our portfolio. Sneakerisation is another trend, led by brands like Power and North Star.
After the pandemic, we have also seen better performance at premium price points, while entry-level categories below ₹1,000 faced some pressure due to inflation. Recent government measures, including direct and indirect tax interventions and goods and services tax rationalisation, should help revive demand at the lower end as well, and we are already seeing early signs of that.
On the revenue front, what are Bata’s plans by 2028–29?
We expect strong growth, driven by the strategic levers we have put in place. Our focus is on execution and ensuring we grow faster than the market. Broadly, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru are our top revenue-generating markets, and they are fairly evenly balanced. Large metros will continue to grow through omnichannel leverage, while franchise-led expansion will accelerate growth in Tier-III and -IV towns. Both sets of urban centres will grow, but through different levers.
What are your investment plans over the next 12–24 months?
From a capital expenditure perspective, excluding marketing and brand equity investments, we typically invest around ₹100 crore annually, split roughly 40:60 between stores and manufacturing/supply chain. Going forward, overall annual investment should remain in the ₹100–120 crore range, with a higher allocation towards store expansion.
How is Bata aligning itself with the Made in India push?
We have always been strong votaries of Made in India, with nearly 99.5 per cent of the products we sell domestically manufactured in India. What we are now working towards is building India as a global sourcing hub for Bata.
The idea is to leverage India’s ecosystem not just for domestic growth, but also to cater to Bata’s global markets such as Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific, thereby strengthening India’s role in global production. We currently export around 1 million pairs annually on average. Over the next three to five years, we expect exports to grow in multiples, ideally reaching 3-5 million pairs, alongside domestic growth. We have set up a dedicated global sourcing team in India to drive this initiative.
With around 2,000 stores today, 700 of which are franchise-led, how will this mix evolve?
As we move towards 3,000 stores, a large part of incremental expansion — about 80 per cent — will come through the franchise route. Franchising works well in emerging consumer cohorts in Tier-III and -IV towns, while company-owned stores are more effective once consumer density crosses a certain threshold. Regardless of the model, the consumer experience remains consistent.
How important is product innovation in this transformation?
The product is a critical piece. Over the past two to three years, casualisation has been a big driver of change in footwear consumption. Beyond that, we are investing in design and technology innovation while leveraging global expertise from Bata’s headquarters in Switzerland and local consumer insights.
The proposition remains the same: style and comfort at accessible price points. We now have a new global design studio in Italy, a key market for us. This helps bring international styling to India faster, while retaining an Indian context. We are leveraging our large consumer database of nearly 15 million loyal customers, ensuring they are the first to see new collections, promotions, and product stories.
Zero-based merchandising (ZBM) is being rolled out aggressively, with plans to expand it to 800 stores by December 2026. What’s next?
ZBM will continue to scale, and all new stores already follow this model. We are working on the next phase of consumer experience enhancement under an internal initiative called Project Elevate, which will take the concept further.
Any upcoming product launches consumers should watch out for?
Our Victoria collection saw a strong response last quarter, to the extent that we ran out of stock. We are now bringing it back with a refreshed and expanded range, which will go live in the coming weeks. This will be one of our largest campaigns of the season, running through June.
 "Gunjan Shah, chief executive officer, Bata India")