Striving For The Right Fit

Bata India, once synonymous with school shoes in India, is trying hard to reconnect with millennials in the country.

- Debabrata Das​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

FOOTWEAR BRAND BATA has a rich history. Founded in what is now the Czech Republic, the brand is under Canadian ownership. Despite its foreign roots, the brand has a deep connect with India and its people. For years, Bata was the go-to brand for school shoes in India. But as India grows up, the company is working hard to reconnect with the country’s millennial generation. Sandeep Kataria, 49, CEO of the company’s India business, Bata India, tells Fortune India in an interview how the company is going about this reinvention. Edited excerpts:

How have you seen the customer evolve and grow, and how has Bata adapted to the changing Indian customer?

There are two aspects when it comes to Bata and the Indian customer. One is the share of the mind and the other is the share of the wallet. If you ask anyone in the country to name three footwear brands, Bata would be one of those three. The catch here is how to make sure it translates into a share of the wallet. At the one end, we want the millennial generation to reappraise us. They have all used them in school, but now I need to force a reconsideration. That is where marketing campaigns and brand ambassadors like Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput [Bollywood actors], or Smriti Mandhana [woman cricketer] come into play.

The second is making sure our traditional range—the comfort range which we are well known for—also starts moving up in style. And the third is to bring in new categories. For example, as trends change, casual shoes are pretty much what the millennial wears to office these days. Therefore, we have a new range to adhere to this change.

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