Sandeep Kataria: The Man Who Reinvented Bata India

Within just three years of his appointment as CEO of Bata India Ltd in 2017, Sandeep Kataria has been named as Global CEO of Bata. Kataria is the first Indian to be elevated to a global role in the 125-year-old footwear major. He takes over from Alexis Nasard, who is stepping down after almost five years.

Kataria’s appointment has brought into focus his three years at Bata India. Speaking about Kataria’s appointment, Ashwani Windlass, Chairman, Bata India Ltd, said: “Over the past few years, the India team has delivered exceptional growth in footwear volumes, revenues and profits, and has strengthened Bata’s customer measures in a highly competitive footwear market.”

With 24 years of experience at Unilever, Yum Brands and Vodafone in India and Europe under his belt, before joining Bata India as CEO, Kataria has managed to transform the Bata brand within a relatively short span.

How Has Bata Fared?

Bata India is the largest footwear retailer in India, offering footwear, accessories and bags across brands such as Bata, Hush Puppies, Naturalizer, Power, Marie Claire, Weinbrenner, North Star, Scholl, Bata Comfit and Bubblegummers, to name a few.

Despite being in a highly competitive footwear market, Bata India delivered growth in revenues and profits under Kataria's stewardship.

On a CAGR basis, in a three-year period, the company’s consolidated net profit increased 27.4 percent to Rs 3,289.53 milllion in FY20, while its net sales went up almost 7 percent to Rs 30,561.14 million during the period under review.

In comparison, during the same period, Liberty Shoes saw net profit rising almost 19 percent and net sales up 9.3 percent. Similarly, Relaxo’s net profit rose 23.6 percent, while net sales went up by 13.9 percent.

However, Bata India’s results in the first quarter of FY 2020-21 were severely impacted because of disruptions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Bata India’s revenue from operations for the quarter was lower by 85 percent compared to the corresponding period last year due to the lockdown in April and May, followed by a graded unlocking across the country. Consequently, the company incurred a loss after tax of Rs 101 crore as against a profit after tax of Rs 100 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Even in the second quarter of FY21 (July-September), the company incurred a consolidated net loss of Rs 44.32 crore.

Bata's competitors were not spared either. Liberty Shoes reported a net loss of Rs 1.62 crore in July-Sep of FY21. However,  Relaxo saw net profit rising 6.46 percent to Rs 75.10 crore in the second quarter of FY21.

Strategy

The intense competition prompted the company to constantly premiumise its product offerings and introduced products targeting young millennials to be in the game. In 2018,  Bata India moved ahead on the path of premiumisation by adding technologies like memory cushion & lnsolia. It also started modernising the look of its stores.

In an industry-first move, during Kataria’s regime, the company introduced a new category targeting Tweens, the 10-14 years olds, and curated a collection in casual, daily-wear, and sports.

Kataria believed in investing in areas of product portfolio, evolution in line with the consumer’s lifestyle, innovation, design-focus, new store openings, renovation and marketing campaigns.

Bata also undertook online marketing initiatives using digital influencers. It also tied up with several brand ambassadors, including Bollywood actress Kriti Sanon and Cricketer Smriti Madhana to promote its products.

The company continued to strengthen its channel focus by rolling out Omni-channel Home Delivery offerings in more than 60 percent of its stores. Under Kataria, the company expanded its presence in smaller towns via franchise and multi-brand outlets and started selling in chains like Central, Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle.

Bata India also rolled out experience centres which offered complete foot-care with 360 foot-scanning, customised insoles, medicated pedicure and shoe laundry in its flagship stores.

Currently, Bata India retails in more than 1,550 Bata-owned and franchisee stores on bata.in, on e-commerce marketplaces and in thousands of multi-brand footwear dealer stores pan-India. This number stood at 1,290 in 2017.

Challenges for Kataria

The Swiss-domiciled multinational footwear maker was founded in 1894 by Czech businessman Tomas Bata. It is a family-owned business selling more than 180 million pairs of shoes annually in 5,800 stores, and producing locally in 22 Bata-owned manufacturing facilities across five continents. Bata operates in more than 70 countries.

Kataria is taking over at a time when most of these countries face the challenge of  the COVID-19 pandemic. Going ahead, Kataria’s task will be to bring the business on track in the post-COVID world.

“While 2020 has presented unique challenges, the appeal of our brands and the passion of our people provide every reason for confidence regarding our prospects in the years ahead,” Kataria said in a press release.