Bata to roll out online purchasing
Reprinted from www.thesundaily.com Published May 6, 2010
Author: Sun2Surf, News Without Borders, Media & Marketing

BATA will introduce online purchasing this year in addition to reopening some of its major stores that have been renovated.

“We are in the process of renovating some of our major stores to give them a European concept,” Bata Shoe Organisation chairman, Thomas George Bata said.

The renovations will include its flagship store on Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, which will be reopened in July this year.

“We’re spending around RM10 million for the renovations and major refurbishment of our premier stores. They will look completely different,” he said.

Bata Emerging Markets East group managing director Marcello Pace said Malaysia will also be the first in South East Asia to run Bata’s online purchasing system.

“It will definitely help those who have been looking for a particular pair of shoes. A home delivery system is also being set up to deliver shoes purchased online,” he said.

Pace added Malaysia and Indonesia represent the largest markets in South East Asia.

Bata said the company sold nearly nine million pairs of shoes in 2009 in Malaysia alone – a slight increase over 2008. For this year however, they’re aiming for a double-digit percentage increase.

“Our market share in Malaysia is about 11%. We are aiming to attract more young and trendy customers to our stores, especially after the renovations,” Bata said.

“We had a pretty good year in 2009. People were more attentive to their spending, so that helped us,” he added.

He attributes the positive growth to being value oriented, offering footwear for the whole family that have a high level of comfort while remaining affordable.

Pace said although school shoes are one of the company’s main markets in Malaysia, the ladies’ shoe market is its most important sector.

“The market potential for ladies’ shoes is still great; we even have our own local design team following the local trends,” he said.

Bata has 260 stores in Malaysia and a factory in Klang.