2019

BATA
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
RETAIL MANAGEMENT
History of the Company:

1. Who did you interview?

Store Manager: R. Krishnan

2. How long have they been in business?

3 years

3. How has their business changed over the years?

The business over changed when Bata won “Super brand” In 2010 till then it was a normal footwear

shop with years of experience in manufacturing high quality shoes.

4. What is their mission statement?

Mission Statement

BATA delivers safe, high-quality, efficient and reliable transportation services in its region that link people,

jobs, and communities.

Vision Statement

BATA is the premier regional public transit authority in Michigan, continually developing and operating

state of the art transit technologies, staff training, performance metrics and financial management at the

highest level, such that BATA is able to accept any larger mission that might be required of it by its

community, region or state.

Values Statement

 Integrity

 Respect

 Accountability
  Community

5. Do they plan to expand, penetrate, diversify, or change their retail format in the near future?

Footwear major Bata India after delivering strong results in the third quarter ended December 2018

is eyeing double-digit growth going forward on the back of its massive expansion planned next fiscal.

Footwear major Bata India is planning massive expansion during the current financial year and will

be opening 150 stores across the country.

B. Retail Strategy

1. Who is their Target Market?

 Define their customer according to demographics (age, gender, income level, education etc.)

Age: Involves all age group. Bata released Bubble gummers and Bata School for kids (3-5) &

teenagers (8-12)

Gender: Bata manufactures men and women's shoes, created a new segment MARIE CLAIRE for

the women customers and promote a new dress line, while WEINBRENNER promoting a new style

collections for the men.

Income level: Sandak by Bata had created affordable Sandals, targeting to reach customers who

cannot afford their high-end, more expensive lines. On the other hand, WEINBRENNER was created

with more expensive lines.

Education: Like B.First by Bata introduced targeting School students with School Socks and Light

Weight Sporty School Shoe.

Occupation: HUSH PUPPIES is targeting White Colored persons, whereas Bata Comfits targets

those Blue colored whose profession requires them to perform a good amount of manual labor, so

that they can feel comfort in footwear.

issue in the purchase decision of your product if it is a footwear also. Say for example, a married

person (Middle class) with three school going kids will think twice before purchasing an official

HUSH PUPPIES due to high price of that particular brand.

Family Life Cycle: Young, single, engaged, DINKS (double income no kids), SINKS (single income

no kids), married with kids (babies, toddler, elementary school age, teen, older), recently divorced,

empty nester (children have moved out), same-sex couples, single parents, extended parents

(grandparents raising their grandchildren), retired (either wealthy or Medicare dependent/poor). Like

a person was born in 1990 liked to wear Bubblegummers due to style range, this generation is today

adult & usually goes for COMFITS/HUSH PUPPIES.

Generation: Silent, Matures, Baby Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y, Boomlets. For Example, Generation

born between 1990-2000 liked to wear Bubble gummers due to style range, this generation is today

adult & usually goes for Comfits/Hush Puppies.

Social Class This includes Upper class, middle class, lower class etc. Bata segmented their market

in this way as well. Like for men Upper class Hush Puppies, middle class Bata, lower class Patapata.

Nationality & Culture American, French, English, African, Russian, Indian etc. Base on Nationality

& Culture consumer choices differ. For which few designs are very popular in UK which are not

likely famous in Bangladesh/India due to culture.

 Trade Area – Bata is primary trade area such as, The Company is evaluating new locations and has

currently identified 100 potential trade areas covering both malls, high street areas. Bata would also

like to open more stores in tier II and tier III cities through the franchisee route. Hush Puppies has

shown good traction in recent times. The management intends to open 20 exclusive Hush Puppies

store every year.

2. Merchandise Assortment:

 What are the major brands they carry?

Bata Reebok- Parent Company: Adidas

 Do they have private brands?

BATA, Mocassino, ambassador Hush Puppies, Scholl, COMFIT, Marie Claire, Bubblegummers,

Weinbrenner, Power, North Star, Naturalizer and Sundrops.

 Where does this retailer's merchandise fit on the category life cycle?

 Why do you think they chose this stage of the life cycle?

 Does this retailer carry convenience goods, shopping goods or specialty?

Bata Carry out Specialty store, by finding strategic locations, medium sized layout and merchandise

on focused single category

3. Human Resources:

 How does this store prepare and train their sales people?

 Selected Sales people under go 3 months training period by the HR department and every month they

undergo training sections. Develop basic level modules on volume programs//soft skills and deliver

internally. Facilitate learning through a variety of delivery methods including classroom instruction,

off site training, on-the-job coaching

Store managers undergo 9 months training period.

 Are they paid on commission, salary, or hourly wage?

Sales people are paid salary per month

Sales person: ₹ 10,000/ month

Store Manager: ₹ 24,673 / month

 Are the sales people allowed to cross sell?

Yes, Bata encourages cross selling in their store, Such as if you go to the store to buy a formal shoes

they will suggest to buy matching socks.

 Do they outsource any activities in their business?

Bata has increased the outsourcing of labor-intensive work while retaining machine related

operations. Increasing focus on outsourcing of labor-intensive operations has led to rationalization of

employee cost and continuous improvement in profitability.

4. Store Location:

 Where is this retail store located?

Bata Shoe Store, Civil Line Rd, Opp Varkey Super Market, Sonia Nagar, Palarivattom, Ernakulam,

 Why do you think they chose this location?

Palarivattom is a well-developed location. People come and go very frequently and also it has metro

station, bus stops which will attract the customers.

 Is this site accessible for the customer?

Available facilities are Metro station, main road, bus stops etc.

 What type of lease do they have?

Not be willing to give this information.

5. Pricing:
 What is this stores pricing policy?

Bata uses High/ Low pricing policy

 What other practices do they use to compete with price?

DISCOUNTS: A discount on the normal selling price of the product. For example Bata a family

footwear brand with showrooms all over the city, is offering discounts ranging up to 50% on shoes,

sandals, chappals, ladies footwear, kid‘s footwear and men‘s footwear. This offer is available at all

Bata footwear showrooms across the country.

END OF SEASON SALE: Bata often has End of Season sale which helps in boosting up the sales

figure.

SALES at POINT of PURCHASE: Another feature of their sales promotion strategy is their point

of purchase products. Products like Dr Scholls foot cream, Knee Pain Relief Orthotic, etc. are

displayed over the cash counter so as to encourage customers to make an immediate purchase.

“99’’ MAGIC FORMULA: The psychological factor of prices ending with 99 gives the consumer

a feeling of a good bargain price as against a cheap prize‘.

 Does this retailer use the cost-oriented method of pricing or demand-oriented pricing.

Bata follows demand- oriented pricing. They uses price skimming, Odd even pricing, penetration

pricing and prestige pricing

 Is there a frequent shopper program?

In 2018, Bata launched ‘Bata Club’, adding benefits to the Bata members. They are as follows:

 BATA Club members can enjoy a flat 5% off on all items (discounted items included, limited

to items below 50% discount).

 Members can enjoy various vouchers with no minimum spending required when reaching

different tier status in the membership.

 Complimentary SGD 10.00 voucher upon sign-up with full profile details completed.

 Birthday bonus -- 20% discount voucher will be sent to the member's registered mobile

number, redeemable with no minimum purchase required. Valid only for one month.

 Redemption offers on selected categories / brands.

 Access to exclusive events and new product launches.

 Dedicated discounts and delightful surprises.

6. Communication Mix:

 What type of paid advertisements does this business use?

TAG-LINE: Bata taglines meant for individual products are the key components of advertising.

These tag-lines are modified according to demographic profile of consumers. These appear on

hoardings at every crucial & congested part of the cities in which Bata retail stores are operating.

Everybody understands and connects easily with these simple one- liners like ‘Shoes for all’ , ‘The

world moves on your feet’, ’Outdoor is yours’, ‘Get comfortable today’,’ One world ,one Bata’.

PRINT ADS: Bata advertises its products just before launch of any new scheme. This helps in setting

up a platform for the new products brand in the minds of customers. The ads are displayed on a full

page in the leading newspapers which again is based on the preference of the people. They also attach

pamphlets of their ads along with the newspaper.

TV-ADS- Television is one of the best platforms to advertise one’s product. Bata being a family

brand, the ads are shown during the prime time slot so the entire family can see it together.

ROAD SIDE ADVERTISING: Bata bill- boards are displayed on prime locations in various cities

as a brand building exercise.

CELEBRITY ENDORSER- Bata’s sale doubled as soon as they used Rani Mukherjee as their brand

endorser.
  What type of unpaid communication does this business use?

Only major promotions it offers is during seasonal sales and discount days, and the same is

automatically communicated within the market sphere through word of mouth by customers, which

ultimately allows it to save on promotion campaigns and in the end benefits customers only, with low

price shoes.

 Does this retailer use cooperative advertising? With whom?

Bata does not use cooperative advertising.

 What type of sales promotions does this retailer use?

CONSUMER PROMOTION: The tool already in use by BATA India group is ―Bata Gift Vouchers. The

design of the vouchers need to be complementary to the theme used for advertising so as to reinforce the

image of the brand. These gift vouchers have the following features: Convenient denominations, 6 month

validity, Redeemable on all BATA products, Acceptable at over 1500 Bata stores across India.

7. Store Layout:

 What type of design layout does this store use?

Free Form Layout

 Is it effective for customer flow?

It provides an intimating, relaxing environment for the customers. This layout help the customers to

explore the store.

 What type of fixtures do they use?

Capacity Fixture, Gondolas, Four-way fixture

 What type of lighting are they using?

 Is music constantly playing? What type?

No, there is no music playing.

 What type of scent is in the store? Does it detract or attract?

There was no scent in the showroom.

8. Customer Service:

 What type of services does this store offer?

The sales employee help to find the perfect fit for the customer, educate the customer with latest

model.

 Talk to 3 customers - What is their perception of this stores customer service?

Good Quality foot wear, Ambience, good customer service, more collection since it is a bigger store

have two floors.

 How does this store handle customer complaints?

If the customer claims the right relating to the defect of the sold article in a proper manner, the

complaint including removal of the defect shall be settled without undue delay within 30 days from

the date the complaint is filed (unless Bata agrees on a longer period with the customer). The store

manager or other competent employee of Bata shall decide on the manner of settling the complaint.

 Does this store have “mystery shoppers” to check level of service?

Yes, there is mystery shoppers, who will be a Bata employee to check the level of service

 Is the salesperson “empowered” to make decisions or is it up to management?

decision.

C. Competitive Advantage:

 Does this retailer have a “competitive advantage” over similar stores?

Yes, Bata is known as the “Ever green brand”

 How can they retain this advantage or achieve an advantage over their competition?

In order to improve its competitive advantage in the future, the Company will be adding over 100

new Bata Stores every year, and renovate the existing stores. The effort to achieve growth in retail

business with penetration into newer markets, expansion of existing markets and increasing the store

density in these existing markets remained the focus for Bata India.

Manufacturing:

Bata is dwelling on its international presence which is its competitive edge and importing its best

practices from abroad to be able to handle the manufacturing requirements for slightly trendier lines

with lesser volumes. It is also utilizing its regional expertise e.g. in Malaysia for rubber based shoes

and in China for artificial leather shoes.

Shoe Making Expertise:

Due to its 110 years of experience in manufacturing and their presence in 20 Countries with 27

production facilities across the globe, Bata is the leading footwear retailers all over the globe. Usually

Bata sells half the production from their own retail stores and balance is manufactures to the

specifications of whole sale customers or under contract to other footwear companies. They got

patents for the first removable heel cartridge system for athletic performance footwear in addition to

the other patents. Bata has its presence in Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Indonesia, China, Pakistan and

Africa.