IT’S inevitable that the world’s first family in footwear, Bata, would partner with the Philippines’s premier retail family, the Sys of the SM Group.
“First of all, their whole philosophy is business, their heritage coming from footwear. It’s particularly strong. Also, we have a friendship with the SM Group and the Sy family going on for some time. All these make them great partners, and we never hesitated. They were the only partner we were interested to work with in the Philippines,” Thomas Archer Bata said at the launch of the first Bata store in the Philippines, which can be found at the third floor of SM Megamall Building B.
The Bata Shoe Co., which is the biggest in the world, originated in Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic, on September 21, 1894. It was founded by Tomás Bat’a. His son, Thomas J., propelled the company to greater profitability after suffering losses in World War II. The grandson, Thomas George, is currently in the management board with his sisters Christine, Monica and Rosemarie. Thomas Archer (who will be referred to as Mr. Bata from hereon in the article), the chief marketing officer, belongs to the fourth generation of cousins who add vigor and vitality to the company.
Bata has 5,000 retail outlets in 70 countries. In Senegal, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, Bata became the local name for shoes when in the 1950s, the company conquered the African continent. “Opportunities abound, everyone barefoot,” came one cable from a salesman to headquarters.
It has a strong presence in Asia, particularly India. It also opened a factory in Thailand in the 1970s. But Bata’s entry into the Philippines came only recently. “To be completely honest, it’s because of legal reasons and legal complications related to our trademark here,” Mr. Bata bared. “It took many, many years to resolve. Fortunately, with the help of SM, we managed to resolve it and we’re back.”
Mr. Bata, who strikes me as a mix of actors Chris O’Dowd and Aidan Quinn, is quite optimistic about his family’s prospects in the country. “We think our model and our proposal is very interesting. We think it’s fairly unique in the market today. We’re going to tread cautiously. We’re opening [between eight and 15 Bata stores in SM malls in Metro Manila], communicate and try to build our consumer base, teach people about our products. From there, we’ll see where we’re going to go.”
The Bata business of “responsible capitalism” is guided by a “Moral Testament” left behind by its founder: The company should not be treated as a source of private wealth but, rather, as a public trust, a means of improving living standards within the community and providing customers with good value for their money.
Bata prices curiously end in the digit 9. “Back over a hundred years ago, it was partially a marketing tactic to make the prices look even more affordable. It has been in our heritage and our blood ever since we started, and it’s just to emphasize the value [of our product],” Mr. Bata explained.
The company has an “insistence on focusing on the local market not only as a matter of structure and strategy but, rather, as an essential aspect of the Bata brand and philosophy. Shoes always followed culture and climate.” Thus, the Weinbrenner sandals will be a hit for their tropical, outdoorsy appeal, in tune with the penchant of Filipinos who love flip-flops.
By some quirk, towns with the company’s factories have the Bata name: Batanagar in India, Bataville in France, Bata-Kolonie in Switzerland, Batadorp in the Netherlands, Batapur in Pakistan, Borovo-Bata in Croatia and Batawa in Canada, a play on the capital Ottawa. If a factory were to be built here, it would most likely be in Batangas.
“Never say never. You know, we have to see what opportunities come up. If we see the opportunity to produce shoes in the Philippines, it could happen,” Mr. Bata said of the possibility of Filipinos becoming “Batamen”, who are of every race, creed and nationality. A lot of the materials to produce the shoes come from Brazil. Italy is the source for premium products. Raw materials also come a little bit from China and India. These are the four main areas where Bata gets its materials from, depending on the shoes that you’re looking for.
“We are very environment-friendly. Our factories on a yearly basis are audited for their sustainability. We manufacture our own shoes. We actually issue a Sustainability Report every year about the progress we’re making on reducing waste. We’re very lucky in so much, as our founder over a hundred years ago believed in sustainability, in producing as little waste as possible, and that exists till today. We always use environment-friendly materials, suppliers, recyclable papers in our boxes, to make as little negative impact on the environment as we can,” Mr. Bata assured.
Bata has three creative teams, with the biggest one based in Italy. One is in Toronto, Canada and another in Singapore. “In the Philippines 50 percent of the products come from Italy, 30 percent from Singapore, 20 percent from Canada. Not all brands are here,” Mr. Bata said. “We’re bringing primarily Bata and a little bit of our other brands for the moment. We’re still very much in the learning stage for us, to see what the Filipino consumer likes the most before we commit to specific product ranges.”
Are they open to designer collaborations? “Yes, absolutely. We’re interested to do that. We’re actually talking to potential partners in the Philippines to work on some collaborative projects.”
What about celebrity endorsers? “It’s a possibility. We’ll see. We believe the best kind of endorsement is user experience and word-of-mouth. So we tend to focus on ‘loyalizing’ people who come to buy with us more than anything else. I won’t rule it out but for the time being, it’s not on the agenda.”
Has the company learned that “bata” here means “child”? “Yes, I’ve heard that.” So is there a possibility to have a Bata Children’s Program here? “Very high probability. We actually intend to do that. It’s a big part of our legacy and it’s very important for our family. We have our own schools and, specifically, we focus on the education of young girls. So we’re actually planning and discussing this with SM, how we can roll this, especially in the rural communities in the Philippines.”
Thomas J. Bata would often wear a different type of shoe on each foot as a way of constantly testing their products. At the launch, his grandson Thomas Archer wore a pair of leather brogues. “These are Bata shoes from our factory in India, in Calcutta. Very comfortable. It’s from the Ambassador line but not yet available in the Philippines, but they will be in a few weeks’ time,” Mr. Bata said with delight.
Did you also learn how to make shoes? “Yes, I did. My holidays as a child were going to factories, making shoes and visiting stores. I’m lucky I grew up with shoes. I like shoes. Not everybody who grew up in the shoe business actually likes them!”