Bata India to expand its online presence through social commerce foray

The footwear company is expected to boost its online sales, which currently contribute 15% of its total sales.

From going to a local multi-brand store to shopping in branded outlets in malls and now e-commerce, the way consumers shop for footwear has continuously evolved. Bata India, one of the largest footwear brands in the country, has also evolved with changing trends. And now, in a bid to reach out to the consumers where they are, the company will be deepening its presence on social media by offering social commerce.

“The idea is that we don't wait for a customer to come to our two or three channels. Instead, we offer them our products where they are. We are considering how influencers can go beyond just talking about a product and also bring the consumers to the website,” reveals Anand Narang, VP - marketing and customer experience, Bata India.

The company is set to boost its sales though digitally-enabled channels, which currently contribute 15% of its total sales. This will enable it to display its products on social media platforms, including Instagram, and provide consumers a link that will direct them to the website. It has experimented with this format in the United States.

“We start the experience on social media, convince the consumers there and then direct them to the website for sizing, availability, etc.,” says Narang.

The Czech company entered India in 1931. Over the years, it has become the last name for school and formal shoes. But over the last 5-6 years, the brand has been consciously evolving its portfolio from a ‘functional and durable’ brand to a ‘casual and fashionable’ one.

The first glimpse of the transition was seen in 2018 in the ‘Surprisingly Bata’ campaign that featured actress Kriti Sanon and the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput. With its recently released campaign ‘It’s got to be Bata’, the brand seems to have moved on to the next phase of evolution. Earlier, the focus was to get Bata into people’s consideration set. Now, it tells them all their needs are available at Bata.

“In the first four years of communication, we wanted to break consumer perceptions that Bata was only for school shoes. After the ‘Surprisingly Bata’ campaign, in our research, consumers expressed that they found a change in the stores and product range. That's where we came back with the insight that consumers are now expecting Bata to be fashionable,” says Narang.

Starring its new brand ambassador Disha Patani, the campaign highlights its new versatile 24x7 casual collection. It features brands like Bata, Bata Red Label, Bata Comfit and Naturalizer. The ad shows the actress wearing the same wear for multiple occasions. Narang says the range has been designed keeping in mind the evolving footwear needs of the modern Indian woman.

“Prior to the COVID pandemic, when people were freely stepping out for multiple occasions, they would change into appropriate outfit and footwear. But during the pandemic, people have become more casual and now, they are looking for versatile footwear that can be worn for multiple occasions,” mentions Narang.

The brand chose Patani as its ambassador to reach out to a younger TG. “We wanted an ambassador who actually understands the brand narrative, and speaks to the youth segment. She's helped us in building that image and we can see more younger women and girls walking in,” Narang adds.

Another aspect that is helping the brand reach out to younger audiences is its increasing focus on sneakers across its various brands such as North Star, Hush Puppies and Power. The brand has set up a large number of sneaker studios in its stores to display up to 300 styles across nine brands, including younger ones like North Star, Hush Puppies, Red Label and Power. It even launched a digital campaign ‘Unlimited sneakers’ in December last year and a SneakerFest campaign to drive the portfolio.

For the fiscal ended March 2022, Bata India's consolidated net profit was Rs 102.99 crore. It had reported a net loss of Rs 89.31 crore in 2020-21.

Sneakers led the growth recovery in Q4 FY22. As per the earnings call for this quarter, it brought in 20% of Bata’s total revenue. Within that, the sneaker studios contributed considerably. In the December quarter, they were in 15-20 stores. But now, in this quarter, it has expanded to 107 stores. Right now, these sneaker studios are within stores, but there are plans to create separate ones in the future.

“We realised that the consumers are going into different stores looking for sneakers. And, we counted that we had more than 300 sneakers across nine brands in our stores. So, we decided to bring them to the front of the store and put them together to make a nice visual merchandising and give them a shopping experience,” Narang says.

Apart from sneakers, Bata is also focusing on its casual range. This shift can be noticed through its latest campaign for Hush Puppies ‘Neo casuals for neo leaders’. This was the first ever marketing focus for the brand that is largely known for its formal footwear. The campaign highlights the brand’s casual range.

“We have made some changes from a visual merchandising perspective. Hush Puppies store is now much more colourful and brighter. It is lot less traditional,” Narang adds.

As of 2021, Bata had more than 1,500 retail stores across the country, including franchisee stores. As a part of its expansion push, Bata is increasing its focus on the franchisee model. It has 325 franchisee stores and intends to take them to 500 soon. In the last quarter itself, it added 22 more. While Bata expands its online presence, it aims for an omni-channel presence. That is, the discovery could happen offline and the purchase happens online or vice versa.

“If a product’s size is not available in a Bata store today, it can be home delivered. It doesn't matter where the discovery happened and where the fulfilment happened. That is omni-channel. These channels will continue to become more hybrid,” mentions Narang.