Weekly Digest News from around Bata World AT A GLANCE Eid Wholesale Collection Launched with Fashion Show in Pakistan BCP Bangladesh Boosts Health of Disadvantaged Children Chilean Execs Weigh In on Copa America Win Bata Retail Race: Quarterly Winners in Kenya The largest Bata store in Africa, known as MBK, has matched its stature by amassing the highest number of points in the first quarter of the Bata Retail Race in the region. Q & A with Faviola Alvarez Hundreds Honored at Bata Bangladesh Long Service Awards New E-Commerce and Famous Brands Offices for Bata India Two Great Years of Bata World News Special Initiatives for South American Tournament Reach Fans and Employees Thomas G. Bata Meets Interchange Staff and Management Trainees in India
The largest Bata store in Africa, known as MBK, has matched its stature by amassing the highest number of points in the first quarter of the Bata Retail Race in the region. STORE Bata Retail Race: Quarterly Winners in Kenya To counter intense competition from other stores, the store manager, Julius Githaiga, challenges his team in a daily morning meeting to work together to achieve the synergy that matters at the end of the day. As Nairobi s go-to store, the team ensures it puts forward the perfect image of Bata. Meticulous presentation, merchandise arrangement, a customer experience to wow and the good performance that comes with doing the right things. To keep tabs on the race, Githaiga has downloaded the Bata Retail Race app and keeps his team constantly up on the latest, encouraging them to make that extra little push. MBK, which opened in January, has a total of 24 team members. A chat with one, Doris Thuku, revealed that the competition has trickled down to the sales staff. With the introduction of the race, she has realized important aspects that she has to nurture so as to grow the business. For instance, she has to keep her category in tiptop condition, fully implement her 5 Steps training, and pamper those she serves to ensure she converts as many customers walking into the store as possible. The passion to serve has been boosted for the whole team. Retail and marketing manager Zil Hasnain is happy with MBK s performance and the impact that the Bata Retail Race is having on the entire company. It is not so much about the competition; it is about the stores performance and the universal goals of the company. This race provides the necessary motivation to realizing what is required of us: customer experience which translates into sales. At MBK, everyone knows very well that victory is not assured, with other stores breathing down their necks, only a few points behind. They are determined to put in more effort to maintain their momentum. Kenya is a racing nation and this race will be tight right to the finish line!
The Bata World News team caught up with Faviola Alvarez, merchandising manager at Bata Bolivia, who shared her insights into the role. INTERVIEWS Q & A with Faviola Alvarez How long have you been with Bata Bolivia, and what do you appreciate most about the company? I have been with Bata Bolivia nine years, since July 17, 2006. Bata is a company that allows for your growth, and not just in your professional life. Also as a human, it gives you the opportunity to show how much you are capable of doing, and it very much takes into account the commitment and effort you put into each one of your assignments. What was your path to becoming a merchandising manager? I started working as a visual merchandiser; after that I worked as a distributor for the children's category; the next step was purchasing. Initially I worked as a sports buyer, for almost three years, and after that, I was a ladies buyer. All of these steps brought me to my current role as merchandising manager. What do you enjoy most about your current position? It is a mix of everything. On one side it is all about trends, picking the most commercial collection for our market, in terms of colors, designs, etc. And on the other side is the analytical part, which is also very interesting: reading historic sales, looking for a better margin, and making decisions in order to improve sales. What is your top priority at work this summer? Our first priority is offering our customers the best option in terms of trend and price. Trying to meet demand and gain an advantage on our competitors through a good collection. Which trend was important in Bolivia last quarter? Normally in Bolivia, we try to have a big core collection, with basic articles, most of which are best sellers. We also play with a few lines in order to show trends in our stores. Last quarter we had a slice of the "Ethnic trend, and for sure it did really well we had articles that sold 42 percent of stock in four weeks. And which upcoming trends are you focused on? For the last two quarters of 2015, we are presenting the "Jungle trend in our stores, which contains fabrics and details in animal print. And the "Glam Rock trend, which contains black shoes with stud and diamond details. Another trend will be "Color." We will highlight royal blue, with handbags presented in our stores to match everything from flats to dress shoes.
Q & A with Faviola Alvarez Part of Bata s mission is: We help people to look and feel good, by continuously focusing on product quality, innovation and value. How does that apply to what you do? merchandising manager also needs experience, and to know about our business, because many times a day, we have to respond to doubts and make decisions in order to find a better solution, for the company and for the buyer. We also need to have a strong ability to motivate. We do our best in order to have good materials and good fit in our stores. This characteristic of the shoe is incredibly important: If the fit is bad, even if the shoe is good, we will not sell. For sure our desire is that the costumer has the best shopping experience in our store, feeling good about our product, and with the certainty that they will come back for more. For the Radio Bata World playlist, what is your all-time favorite song? What sets Bata apart from competitors in Bolivia? Retail in Bolivia is not completely developed. We are the biggest shoe company across the country, but we know that this is not enough to maintain our customers. Because of this, we are working on sales service, and giving our clients the experience of paying the best price for the best shoe. What does it take to be a good merchandising manager? I think that you learn every day, which is the best way to guide a buying team. For sure, each one of the buyers is as different as the product categories. Each buyer has weaknesses and strengths, and a merchandising manager needs to know the composition of the team. A It s an oldie: the name of it is "Fantasy," by Earth, Wind and Fire.
Bata India recently inaugurated its new ecommerce and famous brands offices in Guragon, near New Delhi. CORPORATE New E-Commerce and Famous Brands Offices for Bata India The new office has been designed on an open-space format, to offer employees a comfortable environment for sharing thoughts, ideas and opinions. The office creates an aesthetically pleasing ambience, with great attention to detail regarding the ceiling, flooring, lighting and fixtures. Divided into two floors, the space is allocated to e-commerce, wholesale and loyalty on one floor, and famous brands on the other. The e-commerce space has a dedicated area for product display, with a separate corner for the photo shoot area. With the increasing demand for Bata offerings across online retailing channels, the ecommerce team is aiming to triple the business in the coming year. The team has recently expanded to bring in people with expertise across the content, merchandising and business development areas. The content team will be focused on creating engaging consumer content, while the merchandising and business development teams will work on creating an appealing product portfolio, thereby generating higher business volume and revenues, through multiple business alliances. To keep up with the new era of connected consumers, Bata India has also released its official mobile app. The merchandising team will soon launch exclusive product lines which will only be available online, on the websites of Bata India and other leading players. The famous brands area is a uniquely designed pop-up concept, featuring all brand stores for display and previews. Brands like Naturalizer, Footin and Hush Puppies will be able to showcase their latest collections using the highquality displays. The Caterpillar pop-up shop has been carefully created to display the merchandise with an innovative store concept, imitating the look and feel of how the store itself will look, when it is completed near the end of the year. The team is also working on the Batabranded collection, and will soon roll out the Bata brand showroom in the office. Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Group managing director of South Asia, commented: The new office looks great, with independent pop-up stores of different famous brands. It gives us a great opportunity to create a dummy store every time a new campaign or collection is launched. The team is already working on the Bata brand store, which will soon be launched in the same office.
On June 25, at the Army Golf Club in Dhaka, Bata Bangladesh proudly presented Long Service Awards to 363 recipients, including management and workers, who have dedicated 25 years of their working lives to the service of the company. CORPORATE Hundreds Honored at Bata Bangladesh Long Service Awards The recipients received their awards from Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Group managing director of South Asia; Chitpan Kanhasiri, company manager of Bata Bangladesh; Sohail Aslam, finance director, and other senior company managers, in front of a large crowd of around 1,000 attendees. The special ceremony was also witnessed by all company managers, along with their partners. The recipients were presented with a certificate, personally signed by Thomas G. Bata, a crest, a dinner set and a saree. After the presentations, there was a gala dinner for all present. In addition, three recipients were honored posthumously. During his address, Gopalakrishnan stated: I congratulate all my 363 colleagues who have completed 25 years in the organization. On behalf of the entire Bata Group management, I thank them for their loyalty and dedication in contributing to the growth of the organization for the past 25 years. We are all proud of you. He added: I also take this opportunity to thank the families of the recipients who have silently but wholeheartedly supported their endeavor. I will be completing 25 years next year, and during these years I have seen good times and not so good ones in the Group. However, by dint of our determination and grit, we have been able to cross the hurdles. This has been possible thanks to contributions from each one of you. I am sure Bata Bangladesh will keep up the spirit, going higher and higher. Kanhasiri also congratulated those receiving awards, commenting: I am proud to hand over the awards to my colleagues, and thank them and their families for their outstanding contribution to the company over the past 25 years. I also call upon the new generation to emulate the values and virtues that have helped these people to travel so far within the company. Aslam, who was one of those receiving an award, thanked Bata for having nurtured him in his career with the company. He stated: On behalf of all the recipients, I express my gratitude to the management of Bata Bangladesh, and I am honored to receive this award. I wish to see more and more people enhancing their careers with the Group. The management of Bata Bangladesh also gave special thanks to the 40 volunteers who worked hard to make the event a success.
As Bata World News celebrates the completion of its second year, we take a look back at this success story. CORPORATE Two Great Years of Bata World News BWN carries on an extraordinary lineage. Bata already had its own press when it was based in the original town of Zlin, and the whole collection of these newspapers has been digitized in the Czech state archives. When Bata expanded, companies then started their own local newsletters in places such as Kenya, India, the Netherlands and France. But BWN has gone beyond its ancestors to allow, much more quickly and easily than ever, the sharing of ideas, projects and identity among all Bata people. We started this project in 2013 to be a tool useful to everyone across the organization, and the structure of Bata World News has continued to develop since then. Even outsiders look up articles I m asked about my BWN interview sometimes, commented Davide Zornetta, Group director of human resources. And when I visit Bata companies around the world, people are already familiar with projects I bring up. If I mention a new store in Zambia, they will say in South Africa, Oh yes, I read about it in Bata World News. What has been the most-read article over the past two years? One about Bata s truly unique heritage: the innovative elevator office used at Zlin headquarters in 1930s Czechoslovakia. Over 5,000 different users have clicked on this article. Other popular topics have been the Bata Awards, executive interviews, announcements from the CEO and product launches. BWN has grown to be Bata s main portal for binding the Group together and keeping employees up-to-date and inspired by the latest goings-on around the Bata world. Bata is again at the forefront of company communications. We know that more and more Bata people are visiting the BWN website, where two new articles are published daily in English and Spanish, and eagerly await the digest in their email inboxes on Fridays. Not only that, direct participation in the project keeps growing: BWN articles and images are being shared on a host of social media, and the team appreciates the news sent in by each and every Bata company around the world. With this collaborative effort and dedicated team, the future of BWN is bright.
This year s Copa America, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, was held in Chile from June 11 to July 4, captivating millions of fans and the general public alike. CORPORATE Special Initiatives for South American Tournament Reach Fans and Employees Power put together a collection of football shoes in the colors of the most popular teams: Argentina, Brazil and Chile. These shoes will be available in stores in Chile until the football fever dies down. The brand supported the sale of this collection by developing special artwork for use in stores, social media and elsewhere. The visuals translate the lines of the shoes upper design into works of art that reflect the tournament's energy and excitement. The result is a colorful masterpiece that has grabbed consumers' attention and encouraged team pride. Power also developed a contest on social media for the occasion, targeting Latin American consumers. A pair of Power Copa America shoes was given away to a qualified contestant who happened to come from Chile, just as the Chilean team took home gold. Bata Chile also rode the wave of Copa America enthusiasm by holding a contest. It rolled out a Soccer Selfies contest for its employees, asking them to encourage the Chilean team through photos. Did they ever! Chilean Batinos, as they call themselves, snapped photos of themselves in stores, at games and with their families. Employees participated from stores, distribution centers and offices all over the country. A jury then made a selection of the selfies that best reflected the fan spirit. The No. 1 prize went to a Bata store located in southern Temuco, whose entry communicated powerful energy. The store manager, César Contreras, said the contest was very entertaining. "Besides being enthusiastic about the fate of Chile in the Copa, we joined together as a group, we agreed on fan hats, and we planned the photo in detail," he said. As the team cheered, they included in the shot a photo of the model Carolina "Pampita" Ardohain, the face of Bata Chile in 2015, making it look as though she was part of the group. When the national team won, everyone certainly felt their cheering had paid off. Paula Moreno, Bata Chile s human resources manager, commented, "This kind of initiative reinforces a good atmosphere on teams and aligns us with the general feeling of unity through competitive sports."
Bata Pakistan s latest Eid wholesale collection was recently unveiled in an unprecedented event for dealers. MARKET TRENDS Eid Wholesale Collection Launched with Fashion Show in Pakistan On June 6, top 100 dealers, wholesalers and participants of the Dealers' Support Program from all over Pakistan attended the collection launch at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club in Lahore. For the first time, the wholesale department organized a fashion show to display the collection, and this approach was much appreciated by attendees. The latest shoe designs were exciting to look at and instantly caused a bit of a stir in the market. In previous years, such collections were displayed on tables, limiting the ability of onlookers to appreciate the shoes. This year s glamorous fashion show set a precedent for how customers can be engaged on an aesthetic level. On the catwalk, the models did full justice to the brand and its stylish products. Shoe catalogues were also distributed to customers who enjoyed the show and took keen interest in the collection. This innovative marketing strategy paid off, and Bata Pakistan s management team congratulated the wholesale team on the new initiative. Company manager Muhammad Qayyum commented, It is the first time in the history of the wholesale shoe business in Pakistan that a fashion show has been organized to launch a new shoe line, and I am sure it will help us carry our upcoming Eid business beyond expectations.
The Bata Children s Program (BCP) Bangladesh recently lent a helping hand in an important health campaign in the country called Vitamin A Plus. BCP / SUSTAINABILITY BCP Bangladesh Boosts Health of Disadvantaged Children Upwards of 15 Bata employees volunteered with BCP Bangladesh for a daylong Vitamin A Plus program. The team was in charge of a vaccination center in the Mazar slum near Tongi. Over eight hours, the volunteers helped hundreds of children take vitamin A and communicated a health message to all the children s parents about balanced nutrition at every age. The ministry said the incidence of blindness has dropped significantly in Bangladesh since the Vitamin A Plus campaign was first implemented. Records show that 3.76 percent of children were affected by blindness due to vitamin A deficiency in 1982, but currently that number is only 0.04 percent. Health workers and volunteers administered the vitamin A capsules at 100,000 health centers as well as 20,000 mobile centers set up for this purpose around the country. Representatives of the health ministry expressed their heartfelt thanks to BCP for its active participation. One of the enthusiastic volunteers, Sadia Afroz Shimu, responded, We loved the opportunity we were given to participate in this program and would gladly come back and volunteer again!
Wherever they live around the world, Chileans all celebrated on July 4 when, for the first time in a long tournament history, their football team finally took home the Copa America. CORPORATE Chilean Execs Weigh In on Copa America Win Justo Fuentes, Group managing director of Latam; Hernan Vizcaya, Group managing director of Africa; Carlos Casanello, Bata Industrials and institutions manager for Asia and Africa; and Marcos Canovas, Bata brand leader, all described themselves as La Roja fans, if not fanatics. BWN: Do you normally follow the Copa America? Are you a big fan of the sport? Fuentes: Yes, I am a soccer fanatic. As you probably know, in all Latin American countries the most popular sport is soccer. Copa America and the World Cup are really important events for all Latam people that many people follow with a passion. Vizcaya: I am a big fan of football, and I followed the Copa America too. I downloaded an app on my mobile to know the precise details of all the matches and performances. Casanello: Yes, I am a big football fan. I normally follow all the most important championships in the world. Copa America and, of course, the Champions League, Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Chilean Cup, etc. And also I am following the Dutch League. I am lucky because the local team here in Eindhoven, called PSV, will play the Champions League this year. Canovas: Yes, I like football a lot, and I normally follow Copa America. BWN: Did you watch the finals? What was the highlight of the game for you? Fuentes: Yes, of course. The highlight for me is this: teamwork is the most important aspect to be winners. Acting as a unified team is more important than individual talented people acting alone. Teams with clear strategy and objectives win the battle. It really was an honest battle, played at a very high level due to the participation of the best soccer players in the world. Vizcaya: I couldn't watch the finals because I was flying at the time. I traveled on Saturday, July 4 from South Africa to Chile. But as soon as I arrived I turned on my mobile and checked WhatsApp to see the result, and was good news for me. I had the chance to see the highlights, and for me the best was Alexis Sanchez s penalty execution. He shot the ball like a master. Casanello: Yes, I watched the final. Tough game. Argentina have a long history with plenty of cups, and one of the best players in the world, and also they were finalists in the most recent World Cup. But I said to a lot of my friends: "It's now or never." Chile has been playing well for a long time, with a good generation of players and one good coach. We were at home, and 45,000 people were supporting the team. But I must say something: We were saved at the last minute of
Chilean Execs Weigh In on Copa America Win regulation time, at 91 minutes. [Lionel] Messi started an attack he passed the ball to [Ezequiel] Lavezzi, center to [Gonzalo] Higuain, and this player missed the goal by 30 centimeters. It was a real save for Chile. After that I said, Now we have everything to win. The planets are aligned for us. Canovas: Yes, I saw the final, and the highlight was the penalty shootout: the tension was extreme. Full time finished 0-0, and then each team did five kicks from the penalty mark. Chile came out ahead 4-1! BWN: Where were you when the Chilean team won? Fuentes: I was at home watching the match with my little son Benjamin. Vizcaya: On the plane. Casanello: I was in the hotel where I live in Eindhoven, Netherlands. I started warming up "previa" three hours before the game. That s when I took the photo above. Canovas: I was lucky because I arrived in Chile the same day as the match, and I saw the match with family and friends at our home. I had gone to Chile to pick up my family to come to Prague, where we are relocating. BWN: How did you celebrate Chile s win? Fuentes: We celebrated Chile s first Copa America title by honking in the streets very, very happily. Vizcaya: I was alone at that time, and the way to feel the victory was reading the news and watching videos of the match: the penalties and the celebration afterward in my country. Casanello: I was alone in the room, but connected through Skype with my families in Chile. When Chile kicked the last penalty, I started jumping and shouting very loudly. That was at approximately 1 a.m. Dutch time. I think I woke up the entire hotel! But really it was a great sensation and lots of happiness. The next day I wore my official red Chilean shirt walking downtown for two hours. I was really proud to wear this shirt, and I received a lot of congratulations from Dutch and foreign people who also watched the game the previous night. Canovas: We had a great celebration at home with music. BWN: What was the best thing about this victory? Fuentes: It is an important message that, with huge sacrifice, you can get victories. The Chilean team has many players from poor backgrounds who couple their talent with highly disciplined work. Young generations can learn now that you can be winners if you work hard. Vizcaya: For me the victory was the consequence of teamwork, planning and being convinced that you can win. Casanello: It s the first time winning this cup in its 99 years of history, and we have a good generation of players that can also win the Confederation Cup. After a bad year, this kind of victory is generating some positivism across the entire country 17 million people are happy with this victory. Canovas: The best thing is that Copa America is a very old championship, and this is the first time Chile has won. It was special to see all the people celebrating, all together, without any problems, just as one united nation.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) As part of his recent visit to India in June, Thomas G. Bata met with Bata India's new management trainees, along with staff taking part in the Bata Interchange program in India. CORPORATE Thomas G. Bata Meets Interchange Staff and Management Trainees in India Bata India has hired its first set of management trainees from a range of renowned business schools and design institutes, and these trainees are now attending a carefully designed induction program for 6 months, before beginning their management roles in earnest within the organization. Mr. Bata, along with Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Group managing director of South Asia, spent time with the management trainees at Bata India's retail training academy. The interactive session primarily revolved around stores, buying mechanisms and innovative digital-selling and promotion concepts that can be implemented within the organization. The trainees also talked about their own individual experiences with the brand, and what changes they would like to bring to the organization in the future. Gopalakrishnan commented: The management trainees were delighted to meet Mr. Bata during his visit. It was a great opportunity for them to meet and interact with him at this early stage in their career. Mr. Bata also met the current Bata Interchange program staff for a working lunch during his visit. The program offers Bata staff the opportunity to work in a different company for a period of six months, to gain experience and to learn new ideas. Currently attending the program in India are: Piyachat Boonluea, shoeline builder from Thailand; Lee Guang Rong Robin, district manager from Singapore; Sifiso Berry Hlongwane, ABU supervisor from South Africa and Jorge Sanchez, men s category buyer from Peru. During the lunch meeting, Mr. Bata discussed with them the opportunities within each country and the growth of e-commerce. The team also shared their learnings from the program in India and the best practices from each business area, which they will take back and implement in their respective countries. Gopalakrishnan added: The interchange program is a great way to learn and exchange knowledge and best practices within countries. The interchange employees were pleased to meet Mr. Bata during his last visit to the country. It was a fantastic platform for them to share their experiences and takeaways from Bata India.