Bata, a globally celebrated footwear brand, is maintaining a target to open 100 stores every year in India.
Bata, which is considered as one of the household names in the country, is also eyeing specialized footwear stores for some of its licenced brands like HushPuppies.
“We have around 1,250 stores across India. And every year we are planning to open almost 100 stores. Last year, we opened a little bit more. We opened 189 stores. Now, going forward, we are planning to open 100 stores every year…” Bata India Ltd, group managing director Rajeev Gopalakrishnan stated.
The company is also planning to have specialised footwear stores for its licenced brands like Hushpuppies across India, he said.
“Bata is a destination for primary customers looking for great choice of products and ranks. Most part of brands is owned specialised brands. That’s why you see bigger (Bata) stores,” Bata global chairman and chief executive, Thomas George Bata said.
He said in India the company has 30 exclusive outlets for retailing Hush Puppies range of shoes. “It is our licencing brand. Here we have almost 30 outlets across the country. Definitely it (the specialised store concept) is growing better. There is a possibility we may focus more on independent stores. Every year we may add 5-10 stores…” he said.
Stating that India’s huge population offers a lot of opportunity for Bata, George Bata said, his company has been witnessing a 20 per cent top line growth year on year.