Bata India expands retail presence with launch of all-women-run stores

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Mar 9, 2022

Footwear major Bata India has strengthened its retail presence with the addition of 15 new all-women-run stores across India, as part of its International Women’s Day celebrations.
 

The women-run stores are operational in metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai, along with smaller towns like Pune, Nagpur, Udupi, Jamshedpur, and Vishakhapatnam.
 
Commenting on the expansion, Gunjan Shah, managing director CEO of Bata India Limited in a statement said, “Diversity and inclusion and empowering women to pursue their dreams has been a key part of the very ethos at Bata India. Retail traditionally has been a male-dominated space. By increasing the all-women-run stores from 10 to over 25 now, we wanted to shatter the glass ceiling and encourage more women to become a part of the fashion retail industry.”

“We have now 25 women-run stores across metros and smaller towns. I’m also heartened by the fact that we have now more women entrepreneurs who are coming up and partnering with us to open Bata franchise stores in smaller towns. At the grass-roots level, we continue to support girls’ school education under the Bata Children Program (BCP) initiative," Shah added.
 
Bata is one of India’s leading footwear firm with a retail network of over 1,500 stores across India and sells online on all leading e-commerce platforms.