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| Sunday, 25 September 2005 |
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Bata targets profits with new designs by Surekha Galagoda The Bata Shoe Company of Ceylon Ltd is hopeful of returning to profitability in the year 2006 with new designs, training and the dedication of staff at all levels. "It is no secret that we have not been making profits for the last so many years but if we do, we would not hesitate to share it with the staff," said Managing Director K. Bradley. Our aim is not to be the cheapest manufacturer but to be a quality shoe manufacturer and supply shoes at an affordable price to the entire family. Bata is changing the concept of first to Bata then to school and are producing comfortable shoes in the latest styles for the entire family. At present we are producing shoes for Christmas and much emphasis was given to comfort while we are also planning on styles for next year, Bradley said. He said that the Bata Shoe Company of Ceylon Ltd is in the process of doing a gradual upgrade of products and in South America the Power range of sports shoes manufactured by the company is ranked number one while Niki is number two. To manufacture the leather range we import leather from India while the components are imported from Pakistan, Indonesia and China. He said that in the past we used to make footwear with heavy soles but now we make footwear with lighter soles and longer wearing properties. Even at present we import technical and fashionable shoes from other manufacturing units. Our aim is to bring Bata back to the forefront, understand customer needs and be competitive quality wise. Speaking of styles he said that up to July the company had introduced 462 new styles while another 200 will be added before the end of the year to cater to the needs of the entire family. Bata sells over 10 million pairs of shoes annually through 120 retail shops, 1,500 independent dealers and four exclusive distributors. The company also holds consumer conferences to get the feedback and ideas of consumers on the shoes manufactured by the company. Bradley said that the company uses the latest technology to manufacture high quality shoes complying with international standards while they are also exported to countries such as New Zealand, Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea and the West Indies. Bata provides its staff a healthy working environment, welfare and other social facilities and we train our staff in-house, send them for locally conducted courses, international seminars, conferences and study courses. All these measures have resulted in a well trained and motivated staff. The Bata Shoe Company of Ceylon Ltd began operations in Sri Lanka in 1950 in Grandpass employing 53 persons. The Bata shoe organisation, the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of footwear has been in operation since 1894 in over 60 countries employing over 67,000 people. The company has over 70 manufacturing units including shoe manufacturing
plants, engineering plants, production of moulds, quality control
laboratories, hosiery factories, product development centres and tanneries. |
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