Comments
As volume sales stagnate, footwear major Bata will look at premiumisation of its portfolio to push up its average selling prices (ASPs).
At present, Bata’s ASP per pair stands at ₹600. ASPs have gone up by nearly 7 per cent year-on-year, following an increase in premium offerings. As of now, the mass to premium portfolio is to the tune of 60:40.
According to Sandeep Kataria, CEO and Whole-Time Director, the ratio will change over a period of time in favour of the premium.
“Yes we are working towards an increased share of premium offerings. Over a period of time, share of premium offerings will go up. But I cannot give a timeline,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s 85th Annual General Meeting.
Targeting millenials
In its premiumisation drive, the company has now entered into a marketing and sales tie-up for Caterpillar’s ‘CAT’ brand of outdoor shoes. CAT was earlier sold and distributed by Tata International.
“We have set up a subsidiary that will help us bring in the Caterpillar brand,” Kataria added.
From expanding the Hush Puppies brand through standalone outlets, the company is now experimenting on its own brands like Power, to draw-in millennials.
Hush Puppies and Power both have seen ‘high double-digit growth’.
“We are piloting the possibility of having standalone stores for brands like Power. If successful, we will take the initiative ahead,” said Uday Khanna, Chairman, Bata India.
This apart, there are a host of other initiatives such as omni-channel presence – where shoes can be ordered online and picked up from stores – and increased e-commerce visibility.
Refurbishing stores
Marketing and advertisement spends are all set to increase too, with the company roping in brand ambassadors across categories.
According to Khanna, the company has earmarked a capex of ₹100 crore this fiscal which include refurbishing its stores with a different layout. The investments serve the twin purpose of decking up stores suited towards millenials and help boost volume sales.
The company plans nearly 100 own stores and 50 franchisees this year and an increased presence across smaller towns.
“We are trying out a lot of things to keep up with the times. We have not tried these earlier. For example, increasing advertising and marketing spends. We will also be focussing on volume sales now with a portfolio rejig between mass and premium offerings,” Khanna said.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.