Bata India, the leading footwear retailer, reported ₹6,794 million in net sales for Q4 2019, closing 7.4 per cent over corresponding quarter riding on growth from retail channel. This was weakened by a below expectation performance by e-commerce channel due to changed legislation for the industry and a one-off institutional order in same quarter previous year. The company has delivered a good profit performance on the back of conscious efforts taken towards cost and expense control that contributed extensively in increasing the profit margin. Product innovation supported by strong brand campaigns led to upswing in the brand imagery, leading to increased sales, said Bata India in a press release. The year started with the launch of high decibel brand campaign – #SurprisinglyBata as the overarching theme of the renewed spirit of Bata targeted towards the younger consumer with a fashion forward approach. It was matched by making design and technology as fundamental facets for every product line introduced through the year. Riding on the vision of #SurprisinglyBata, Bata launched its 9-to-9 campaign with Kriti Sanon which was well received, helping drive footfalls and revenue for women’s category as a whole. Disruptive campaigns done consistently with Bollywood heartthrobs Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput have strengthened the brand positioning as stylish & trendy, leading to its growing popularity amongst the youth. The company’s focus on consumer facing IT helped it to take its omni-channel offering to 400+ plus stores thereby ensuring that consumers can find their perfect size and style all the time ! Bata India also strengthened its commitment to protecting & preserving environment through their Gogreen initiatives under recycle, reuse and reduce programme. It aims to go paperless in the near future and an e-invoice pilot has already been activated in select stores. Bata has shifted to using 100 per cent water-based adhesives at all its manufacturing units to minimise use of harmful chemicals and it uses nature friendly compounds like ‘Life Naturals’ in all school shoes offering anti-bacterial protection. A shift to energy efficient LED lighting in factories & stores leading to lower power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is currently ongoing. “Bata has had a good year with increased turnover growth and higher profit margins helping close the year with 41 per cent profit growth against last year. The strategy was to innovate across all consumer touch points— product, brand imagery, retail, to present the renewed spirit of Bata and drive relevance with our audience. While marketing initiatives were important, we took measures to be more cost effective to increase our profit margins too. Consumer insight led product launches supported by disruptive 360 campaigns like the 9am to 9pm Collection for women and Unlimited Casual Collection for men have resonated well with the consumer. We will continue to surprise them with our upcoming initiatives as well,” said Sandeep Kataria, chief executive officer, Bata India Limited.
Source – Fibre2Fashion.
