Bata shoes are just a click away

KUALA LUMPUR: Footwear maker Bata Shoe Organisation expects its Malaysian business to register double-digit growth in terms of revenue and profit for the next two years.

Bata Emerging Markets president Jorge Carbajal said Bata has a 10 per cent share in the shoe market here, also plans to open 10 stores annually to capitalise on the market's growth.

"We aim to increase the 10 per cent market share by 10 per centage points every year and one of our strategies is to roll out 3,000 new designs which we rotate every month," Carbajal told reporters yesterday after launching the newly revamped Bata Malaysia website.

He, however, declined to give investment details but said the Switzerland-based company will invest millions of dollars to open the additional stores. It currently owns 270 stores in Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the newly revamped Bata Malaysia e-commerce website known as Bata Home allows customers the freedom to buy shoes from home or office by accessing the website to view, pick and pay for their favourite shoes and have them delivered to their doorsteps.

Bata will deliver the shoes via Pos Laju, free of charge.

Bata sells men, ladies and children shoes under the brand names Marie Claire, Power, Weinbrenner, North Star, Bubblegummers, Baby Bubble and Primavera.

Carbajal said Malaysia is the first contributor to Bata's revenue among the 10 Southeast Asian countries.

Tomas Bata established Bata Shoe Co Ltd in Czechoslovakia in 1894 to carry on the business as manufacturers, distributors and marketers of footwear, as well as dealers in leather and rubber goods.

Bata owns a factory in Klang, Selangor, to produce injected footwear for both domestic and overseas markets. It owns 5,000 stores in 70 countries and news reports said the company churns out 140 million pairs a year with an estimated global sales of US$3 billion (RM8.91 billion).