Bata India is planning to open 100 new company-owned stores on malls and high-street locations this year, each of which will be spread over 2,500-4,000 square feet. Apart it is also going to expand into smaller markets with around 30 franchisee-owned outlets.
The opening cost of each store will attract an investment of about ₹2-2.5 crore, including the stock too. The shoemaker is also planning to renovate its 50 stores with new decor and expects that it would help them to encounter the growth by 15-20%. The announcement was made at Bata India’s 84th annual general meeting which was held on Tuesday.
According to the Bata India managing director, Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, the company has started 30 franchise store operations last year which has proved to be successful whereby it has already been expanded to 50 outlets. There are currently 1,300 company-owned stores.
Apart, the company is also planning to open online shopping kiosks in its major retail stores, tie-ups with some payments banks and also increase the presence of its product offerings through partner websites. Bata has sold around 6.3 lakh pairs of shoes through online last year across 750 markets in India. This includes its own brand site and partner websites such as Amazon, Myntra, Jabong and Flipkart.