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Rajeev Gopalakrishnan in Calcutta on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture
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Calcutta, Jan. 11: Bata India today said it had nearly fulfiled its investment obligations towards its Bengal unit at Batanagar.
Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, managing director of the footwear major, said it had invested Rs 90 crore in the plant, expansion of stores and building of housing facilities for employees.
The company said it had committed to invest Rs 100 crore out of the sale of excess land.
The Mamata Banerjee government had alleged that the company had not fulfilled its commitment.
Bata today said it had submitted audited figures to the government.
“This is not all. Bata will put more money, more than it had committed,” Gopalakrishnan said on the sidelines of the East India Retail Summit here today.
The company plans to put in Rs 25 crore to spruce up manufacturing units across the country.
Around Rs 12 crore will be invested to modernise and expand the Batanagar facility, which has the capacity to manufacture 13 million pairs.
However, Bata will spend much more on retail. It will invest Rs 100 crore to add 100 outlets to the current tally of 1,250.
In a significant shift in strategy, Bata has decided to switch to large format stores measuring above 3,000 square feet.
The move towards store standardisation will make the business more viable, the company said.
“Smaller stores are no longer a viable option because we cannot display our entire collection. All stores should be standardised. We are relocating our smaller stores,” Gopalakrishnan said.
“It’s not a question of shutting down. It is a question of relocating or closing one and opening a bigger store of 3,000 sq ft at the same market. So we get more customers, more employment and better money for the people,” he said.
Thirty three of the 83 smaller stores have already been relocated.
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