Bata India net profit grows 24% to Rs 42.9 crore

European footwear giant and India’s most preferred footwear brand, Bata, said net profit reached Rs 42.9 crore for second quarter of 2017, an increase of 24 percent. The rise was a result of continued focus on value added products and efficiencies in cost structure, said the firm.

The company's revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 is reported net of GST. Accordingly revenue from operations for the quarter is lower and not comparable to the previous period, a company press release stated.

"Meeting the changing customer aspirations, offering comfort-driven technologies and dialing up fashion & contemporary collections are some of the trends that we are focusing at Bata. With a sharp focus on driving product and operational cost efficiencies and at the same time ensuring a smooth transition to GST, we have managed to ensure higher standards of customer experience and returns to our stakeholders," said Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, managing director, Bata India Limited & president, Asia (South), Bata Emerging Markets.

In an industry-first move, Bata India introduced a new category of footwear targeting the tweens, the 10-14 year olds and curated a collection in casual, daily-wear, sports and outdoor sub-categories, thereby bringing in a whole new set of audience to the stores.

Furthermore, Bata expanded its product offering with new launches in the men's and women's categories like Hush Puppies, Naturalizer, European collection, Power International range, North Star as part of its AW17 collections. Targeting the young millennials, Bata also launched Power Glidesteam & Airwalk collections.

Bata is continuing its efforts to improve retail experiences via attractive store windows, using trained stylists to recommend collections and curating in-store music, recreating an international shopping experience, it said.

The board of directors appointed Sandeep Kataria as a whole-time director of the company for a period of five years with effect from November 14, 2017, subject to approval of the shareholders of the company at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

At the board meeting, Kataria was also appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) and a key managerial person of the company.