Footwear major Bata India remains “cautiously optimistic” of a recovery in demand in the second half of the year, starting with the festivals. The company had reported a 70 per cent decline in consolidated net profit in Q1FY26 to ₹52 crore amid sluggish consumption momentum and weather-related concerns.
“It has been tight from a demand perspective for some period now, including the previous quarter, which was impacted because of weather pattern changes, early rains and geopolitical disputes that disturbed some parts of the country from a retail perspective,” Gunjan Shah, MD and CEO, Bata India, said after the company’s AGM on Tuesday.
“We are looking forward to the festive season, and we are hopeful that some of the temporary sluggishness goes away and some of the initiatives of the government to encourage consumption filter through. We are cautiously optimistic about the demand situation in the latter part of the year, starting with the festive season,” Shah said.
The company has put its focus on value-for-money offerings for customers, even as premium brands like Hush Puppies, Comfit and Floatz are seeing strong momentum.
“I think the need of the hour is to make sure that we can make value-for-money products for consumers,” said Shah. Shah further said that the company, over the next 5 years, expects the Floatz brand to reach ₹800 crore from ₹100 crore at present. The company also plans to expand to around 500 towns, primarily through the franchise model.
“Tier III to Tier V would be contributing to less than 20 per cent of our store’s business, and we expect that it should cross about 30 per cent in the next couple of years,” said Shah, adding, “So we expect them to grow much faster.”
Ashwani Windlass, chairman of Bata India, said that globally and in the country, the footwear company is undergoing a major restructuring, and the focus is on product development and redesign, along with improving operational efficiencies.