Best Feet Forward

One must be curious to know more about this leading manufacturer of footwear in India - Bata India Ltd. (BIL) - after a glimpse of its long-term growth prospects in our October issue. The company has consolidated its position as a market leader after witnessing a successful turnaround in 2005. BIL is a part of the Bata Shoe Organisation (BSO), which holds around 52 per cent stake in the company. BIL owns brands such as Hush Puppies, Weinbrenner, North Star, Power, Marie Claire, Bubble Gummers, Ambassador, Comfit and Wind. The company's product portfolio includes shoes of different make such as leather, rubber and canvas, and accessories. It also has a range of safety shoes for industrial use and supplies to hospitals, military forces, airlines and other industries. BIL was a loss-making entity until CY04 and its losses over CY02-04 were primarily attributed to excess staff at its factories and unionisation of employees. This resulted in employee costs reaching a decadal high of 28.3 per cent of net sales in CY03. The company, however, started its restructuring activity from CY04 and took various steps to rationalise costs which included voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), outsourcing labour intensive operations,

This article was originally published on June 21, 2012.