NEWS FROM AROUND BATA WORLD WEEKLY DIGEST. Bata World Digest April 15, 2017 CORPORATE. Bata Chile Welcomes CEO Alexis Nasard

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1 WEEKLY CORPORATE Bata Chile Welcomes CEO Alexis Nasard On March 20, Group CEO Alexis Nasard arrived in Santiago, Chile for a five-day visit. His main goals were to check out the company s latest collections, review the projects developed for Chile and Latam, and discuss Bata s corporate strategy. INTERVIEWS CORPORATE PRODUCT Q & A with Jere Tormanen First Global Bata Fashion Weekend to Showcase Original Design Bata Heritage Launches Bata Bullets Collection in Exclusive Canadian Design BCP India Advances Dental Health for 1,000 Students We Are Bata People: Tanveer Ul Hassan Sends In a Selfie Latam Latam Asia-Pacific BCP Colombia: Preschool Children Thank Christine Schmidt for Continued Support Bata Chile Unveils the Magic of Insolia Management University Proposes Stacking Innovation to Bata Singapore Training Center in Pakistan Puts Women on a Path to Employment

2 CORPORATE Bata Chile Welcomes CEO Alexis Nasard On March 20, Group CEO Alexis Nasard arrived in Santiago, Chile for a fiveday visit. His main goals were to check out the company s latest collections, review the projects developed for Chile and Latam, and discuss Bata s corporate strategy. Justo Fuentes, president for Latam, and Hernan Vizcaya, country manager of Bata Chile, accompanied Nasard on a tour of Bata stores located in the capital s most important shopping centers. During his stay, the team presented Nasard with two key projects developed in Chile for Latam. The first, dubbed Bata Winning Merchandise, is a tool that will make estimates of demand more precise, taking as a baseline sales history over recent years. The second project is a new point of sale, or POS, system that will improve store sales and the main management tool used at stores. The commercial and administrative teams of Bata Chile also had an opportunity to have an exchange with Nasard. The CEO highlighted for them Bata s 2020 Strategy with a value proposition to delight consumers. Gigiola Casaretto, Bata collection manager, commented, "The visit of our CEO in Chile allowed us to show him the improvements and innovations we have incorporated into our products."

3 INTERVIEWS Q & A with Jere Tormanen Jere Tormanen has been Group tax manager for over four years. He gave Bata World News his thoughts about working for the worldwide organization from Lausanne. Hailing from Finland, how did you come to join Bata? After specializing in supply chains, I joined Bata from Vodafone in Following many years in technology and electronics, I was intrigued to make a transition to retail and fashion. Two things I am still eager to learn more about. The global recognition of the brand and footprint of Bata won me over, and I enjoy the mix of cultures and market to the fullest. My home village is close to the house of Santa Claus! In Finland we also get presents on Christmas Eve before everyone else, but with below-40-degree-celcius temperatures and snow. So, like the swans, I migrated south to Germany and Luxembourg before joining Bata in Lausanne. In Switzerland we have Lake Leman, mild temperatures and high mountains - so this swan won t be going north again. Can you share a favorite Bata memory? Bata has great people all over the world, and in addition to professional talk, I always engage with my colleagues and the local community outside work. The Bata Children s Program is great for meeting local people. I have been visiting schools linked to Bata in many countries, and played some football with boys in Gweru, Zimbabwe and Limuru, Kenya. Saving that penalty during the match with Gweru schoolboys must be my favorite memory. According to national academic tests, the school on the Bata campus in Gweru is in the top five in Zimbabwe. My congratulations to the teachers and pupils of the school. What do you find most rewarding about your role? I love cross-functional and global projects. I enjoy different people from various cultures and from many parts of our operations. There is much I can learn from them, and it is great when we can together find structural solutions with clear touch points with the grass root processes and business. Implementing practical solutions in cooperation with the great and talented people we have in each country is a great source of motivation for me. Can you describe a typical day at the office? Communication is the key to my work, and I strive to reach out and talk with our people in different places and in various roles. It is of utmost importance for me to receive ideas and input from our people who have the experience and understand the practical implications the best. Every week I listen to someone from retail ops, merchandising, product development, procurement or marketing in various locations around the world. It is important not to keep only to your core function, such as finance, but to engage other parts of the business too. In the morning I try to have a call with a couple of people from Asia, and in the afternoon catch up with Latam colleagues before the day is over. Video conferences and meetings are part of my everyday routine, as I try not only to stay informed of all the improvements and changes in our business, which are a constant. My work requires me to have an overview and full understanding of the key value drivers and key input in the business at all times. Which Bata Core Value do you most identify with? It makes me happy to see the recent improvements in our product development, and as a Bata customer I count on the quality of our products. We have made good developments in our quality standards and requirements as of late. In my work I hold myself up to high quality standards, and this way the people in the organization can Count on Me to deliver every day. What advice would you give a young person interested in doing your job one day? Keep an open mind and ears, and make time to get to know our business and people. Can you recommend a book to readers of Bata World News?

4 Q & A WITH JERE TORMANEN Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Ernest is one of the more interesting and talented new writers I have encountered in the last decade. Books are my great comfort on airplanes when I travel for work.

5 CORPORATE First Global Bata Fashion Weekend to Showcase Original Design Bata believes in craftsmanship and original design. Cooperation with universities is important, as it is crucial to identify and further support young talented designers, to bring them on board and let them grow with Bata. So it is with pride that Bata is announcing its cooperation with Liběna Roch... In 2017 we launched, on the occasion of the first ever global Bata Fashion Weekend, a young designers challenge, where a group of talented UMPRUM students presented their original projects, explained Jana Barbati Chadová, global marketing manager for Bata the Brand. Bata Fashion Weekend will take place on April 22 and 23 in Prague. The location was chosen because Bata, founded 123 years ago, is proud to maintain a strong connection to its Czech roots. The weekend is an homage to the design and craftsmanship that have always been integral to the company. Catwalk shows and exhibitions will revolve around the concept of the essence of style, and new designs by top collaborative designers such as Alberto Del Biondi, Tommaso Gallina and Andrea Guarnier will explore customer curiosities and frustrations by combining innovative design with practical needs. Finalists of the young designers challenge personally produced samples of their shoes in our factory in Dolní Němčí. The two winning designs one men s and one women s shoe will be produced in limited editions and sold at the most important Bata Flagship stores worldwide, Chadová said. They will also be presented during the Bata Fashion Weekend. Thomas A. Bata, chief marketing officer, commented, We are thrilled to work with Liběna and her students. The project was great fun, and the designers thoroughly enjoyed working in the factory to come up with the designs. If this can help their careers flourish by giving them a boost, our whole team will be immensely proud. Marcos Cánovas, global brand manager, added, Bata Fashion Weekend is an amazing opportunity for emerging designers, external design studios, and also for our internal design team at the Bata Innovation and Style Center. This team of established designers is creating the first global Bata collection. On top of that, Bata has teamed up with Alberto Del Biondi and FAB LAB Design, two leading Italian design studios, to bring a new level of style and innovation to our collections. With the impressive results of this year, and showing its commitment to empowering young talent, Bata is set to make the young designers challenge an annual event. It is one way to promote amateur design talent as a catalyst for innovation in the footwear market. Check out Bata s global Facebook page for posts about the event leading up to, throughout and following Bata Fashion Weekend.

6 PRODUCT Bata Heritage Launches Bata Bullets Collection in Exclusive Canadian Design Bata Heritage has teamed up with Canada s Drake General Store to release a limited edition, exclusive design of the iconic Bata Bullets sneaker. DGS and Bata created an original pattern featuring the store s well-known cross symbol to grace the Bata Bullets, which retain their original 1970s silhouette. The design features a simple, white-on-white aesthetic with the cross logo rendered in crisp black lines. Just 200 pairs have been produced for consumers. The shoe will launch at the DGS flagship store in Toronto from April 19 to May 14, when Bata Heritage will take over one floor with a one-of-a-kind shop-in-shop. Alongside Drake General Store x Bata Bullets, shoppers will find an exclusive assortment of styles from the Bata Tennis and Bata Bullets collections. Just like Drake General Store, Bata stores are uniquely designed to fit in with their neighborhood and are locals wherever they go, said Carlo Colacci, co-founder of Drake General Store. The partnership between iconic Bata and Drake General Store couldn't feel like a more perfect fit. We are so excited to kick off our new series of collaborations with such a like-minded, creative and forwardthinking brand that boasts a rich history of innovation in the design space. The collection, which comes during Canada s 150th anniversary, celebrates Bata s deep roots in that marketplace. Bata has an extensive Canadian history: conditions in Europe before the Second World War led Bata to transfer operations from the Czech Republic to Batawa, Ontario, which became a thriving community. Canadian headquarters moved to Toronto in DGS which can be described as a traditional hotel gift shop, a classic general store, a flea market stand and a museum shop all rolled into one currently has seven store locations between Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.

7 BCP BCP Colombia: Preschool Children Thank Christine Schmidt for Continued Support The Bata Children s Program (BCP) Colombia inaugurated a new year of activities with a unique event. The children of the Semillitas de Paz preschool made a field trip to the Manisol Manufacturing Company to greet longtime supporter and visiting Bata family member Christine Schmidt. The preschool, which is located in a disadvantaged neighborhood of Manizales, offers an education to children from lowincome families. BCP Colombia volunteers have fostered a good relationship with the school. On March 17, the children s bright faces lit up the company auditorium. Besides Schmidt and some BCP volunteers, Claudio Alessi, country manager of Bata Colombia, and Justo Fuentes, president for Latam, made sure to be present. The children presented Schmidt with photos of themselves to remember them by, and nine of them performed a dance. The school also gave Schmidt a plaque of appreciation for her continued support. Schmidt thanked the children one by one and gave them uniforms and shoes for the school year. She repeated her pledge to support Colombian children. The preschool children were incredibly grateful for the gift of clothes. It was a fitting start to BCP s calendar of activities in Colombia this year, as it highlighted the program s commitment to support vulnerable children through donations and other contributions to better their quality of life. Sandra Catalina Pino, BCP volunteer and systems engineer at Bata Colombia, said, "It is very important to support the education of children in different ways, especially if they come from less privileged parts of the city. The Bata Children s Program is an important platform for assisting children by providing them with a variety of means to obtain a comprehensive education and strengthening in them important values and qualities such as gratitude, which was reflected in the presentation they prepared for Christine Schmidt s visit."

8 PRODUCT Bata Chile Unveils the Magic of Insolia A Bata store in one of the country s premier shopping malls was the stage for the official launch of Insolia Heel technology in Chile on March 28. Nationally prominent figures in entertainment and fashion, along with members of the press, joined Hernan Vizcaya, country manager of Bata Chile, at the Costanera Center Mall for the presentation of what was termed the magical Insolia experience. Being able to wear high heels that reduce pressure on the ball of the foot by 30 percent, and are three times more comfortable when walking, will indeed be like magic for many women. The event included a magic show, followed by a catwalk that highlighted the beautiful designs of the new collection, which is full of style and the Insolia technology that will allow customers to enjoy comfier shoes for longer. Karyme Anaiz, image director at Bata Chile, explained the benefits further. "Insolia is the innovation in footwear that will help all women who love heels not sacrifice more comfort in the name of fashion. You will feel more relaxed not only at your toes and arches, but also at your knees and back when adopting a better posture. When walking with this technology, women will be less physically exhausted, their heart rates will decrease, and oxygen consumption will be reduced by an average of 25 percent. It's really wonderful.

9 STORE Management University Proposes Stacking Innovation to Bata Singapore Students of the Singapore Management University approached Bata in March to partner on a project to develop a device that could improve staff efficiency, cut down on waiting time for customers, and reduce the likelihood of shoeboxes accidentally falling on staff. The SMU students Raam Prasath, David Sng, Chelsea Koh and Low Jin An tested their simple cardboard prototype in the stock room of Bata Singapore s Flagship store. The project was then carried forward with an acrylic prototype. The students also interviewed Bata staff to get a better idea of real-life situations faced by sales assistants when fetching and reshelving shoeboxes. Asked why they decided to approach Bata instead of other shoe stores, Sng replied, We have all grown up with Bata, and it is an amiable brand that we closely relate to. We felt that Bata is more approachable and would be more supportive than the other brands in Singapore. Bata Singapore is now waiting for the final presentation to evaluate if the device can be implemented in stores to improve customers shopping experience. We are thrilled to be able to work with innovative youths who are passionate about retail, especially in Singapore, where retail staffing is so difficult, said Pierluigi Pontecorvo, country manager of Bata Singapore. This opportunity to work with SMU further reiterates our support for the local retail industry. At the end of the day, we hope to be able to improve the shopping experience of our customers and work toward converting more shoppers into Bata customers.

10 BCP BCP India Advances Dental Health for 1,000 Students The Bata Children s Program (BCP) India recently organized a threeday dental clinic at one of its adopted schools in Patna. Nearly 1,000 students participated in dental check ups and workshops on oral hygiene. The activities were held at a state middle school located in the Digha neighborhood of Patna, not far from the Bataganj factory. The BCP team regularly holds health check ups and awareness sessions for the students, in line with the BCP Pillar Children s Health and Safety. To carry out the activity, BCP partnered with a non-profit organization, the School Health Annual Report Programme, or SHARP, and a team of doctors. The oral hygiene awareness workshops were conducted by trained professionals, who distributed dental kits with toothbrushes, toothpaste and tongue scrapers to all the participating students. The volunteers included BCP coordinator Alok A. Kanth and Srinivasa Rao, welfare officer at Bata India, who helped organize the event. The school principal, Vidyanand Singh, thanked BCP. We feel proud that Bata has been kind enough to support us in our school activities. The health check up camps are important to assess the health of the kids at regular intervals, so that if there is any disease, it can be identified and treated in a timely manner.

11 INTERVIEWS We Are Bata People: Tanveer Ul Hassan Sends In a Selfie Tanveer ul Hassan has a passion for his work. He gave Bata World News a look at his team at Bata Pakistan and explained why what they do is so vital. How do you fit into the Bata world? I am the costing and efficiency manager at Bata Pakistan, which is a very challenging job. It always demands the calculation of correct and reliable standard costs with healthy gross margins. It requires utilizing company resources people, machines and money in the most efficient manner. It s a continuous process of improving productivity and skill inventory. Who is in your selfie? Habib Rehman, Ahsan Ali, Irfan Ahmad, Faiz ul Hassan, Naeem Saqib, Abbas Ali, Nouman Arif and Khalid Mehmood, from costing and efficiency. What does it show? What is the story behind it? A picture is worth a thousand words, they say. Looking at this photo, it seems more like a million. This selfie was taken in my office in Lahore. It conveys the message of teamwork. It states that Bata Pakistan s success story lies in satisfied, motivated and committed employees. All of us don t consider ourselves employees but the real caretakers of the company. Success can only be achieved with the combination of fresh young team members with the seasoned and experienced ones. What do you like most about your job? We, as a team, always maintain a good working relationship not only with the management and the marketing, merchandising and designing departments but with production people as well. The costing and efficiency department is like the spinal cord of the company. Want to send in your Bata selfie? Just a few photos you take of yourself, alone or with colleagues, to bwn@bata.com. Show off your creativity! Photos must be horizontal, and be sure to use the largest file size allowed on your camera or phone.

12 Powered by TCPDF ( SUSTAINABILITY Training Center in Pakistan Puts Women on a Path to Employment Bata Pakistan has established an upper stitching training center in Batapur, a village built for Bata factory workers outside Lahore. The trainees, who are overwhelmingly women, are employees family members and residents of the nearby community. The community program is offered free of charge and has proved very successful at preparing women for employment in the numerous stitching units around Batapur. The 155 course graduates are currently working as stitchers and are proud of the contribution they are making to their families. The stitching center was established as part of Batapur s Industrial School. While initially open only to women, some men have also showed interest in the opportunity to receive 12 weeks of hands-on training in a supportive environment. The trainees are awarded certificates and stipends upon successful completion of the course. The most recent group of 12 trainees was acknowledged on March 29 with an award ceremony attended by country manager Muhammad Qayyum. Qayyum commented, Bata has a legacy of playing an active role in the economic growth of the communities in which we operate. Our efforts toward the wellbeing of employees families, and especially for empowering women in the community, are always appreciated.