Bata, India’s leading and most preferred footwear brand, today held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2018 in the presence of all their directors at Kalamandir in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The company’s successful youth-centric initiatives were the mainstay of the meeting.
The conclusion of the AGM saw Bata announcing its financial results for the Company’s FY 17-18. Turnover and Profit before exceptional items & tax stood at INR 2636 crores and 340 crores, respectively. The last quarter saw Bata associate with two big celebrities — actor Kriti Sanon and cricketer Smriti Mandhana.
The tie-up with these young achievers saw the launch of last quarter’s most talked about TVCs- ‘Come & Be Surprised’ with Kriti Sanon and ‘Find Your Power’ with Smriti Mandhana, both showcasing the brand’s young and revamped image. Bata’s modern, contemporary range for men and women — the Red Label Collection as well as internationally developed ‘Red Concept’ stores in Kolkata and Delhi were also launched in that quarter. Bata’s first stand-alone Power store in Noida was inaugurated by the global leadership team and Bollywood youth icon Diana Penty. Bata continued its association with fbb Colors Femina Miss India as the official footwear & rampwalk partner, after featuring Manushi Chillar as the face of its fashion-forward collection campaign.
“Last year has been an epic journey and saw all of us at Bata India working towards one goal – to change Bata’s brand perception among the youth. Our key focus was to establish Bata as a fashionable and contemporary brand. Cornerstone of this strategy was a strong focus on internationally designed collections, introduction of global store formats, and right marketing initiatives. Through these we’ve managed to ensure higher standards of consumer experience and returns to our stakeholders,” said Mr. Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, President-South Asia, Bata Group.
Further to drive growth, Bata India got on board Mr. Sandeep Kataria as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and whole-time Director. Mr. Kataria is a business leader with over 25 years of experience in consumer industry, having held several senior sales, marketing & business head roles across the developing and developed markets with Vodafone, Unilever and Yum! Brands.
“Bata is a premium brand for the masses as well, and we must steer shoppers from smaller cities in India to our stores by expanding our footprint. The company plans to add around 100 new retail stores, 50 new franchisee stores and expand its distribution in the current year across India. The focus will be on building the Bata brand and attracting more footfalls through impactful store décor, in-store activities, aggressive launch of new products and increasing our advertising spends,” said Mr. Uday Khanna, Chairman, Bata India.
Mr. Khanna also called for greater cooperation between Government and Industry to lift the country’s growth rate and provide employment opportunities to our growing young population.