Footwear major Bata India wants to see volume back growth to continue going forward as for the company volume growth has turned positive after declining in the first half of the current financial year.
The company witnessed a strong performance in franchise stores and multi-brand outlets (MBOs) in the third quarter this fiscal, contributing to overall sales growth.
“We saw volume growth, so after some time, even for the year, as well as for the three months of the quarter that went by, and we want to keep continuing some of the initiatives…we want to see volume back growth coming through,” Gunjan Shah, MD and CEO, Bata India, said during a post-earnings conference call.
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Shah said the volume growth came from across channels, including franchise and MBOs, and across several core categories. The Power and Floatz brands delivered volume growth of 9 per cent and 25 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
For the footwear maker, franchise stores crossed 600, which is up from less than 100, three years ago. Also, store optimization efforts have continued, with closures of non-profitable stores alongside new additions.
The company is implementing Zero Based Merchandising (ZBM) at its stores, which expanded to 17 stores in the third quarter. The growth was quite slow against the guidance of 100 stores by December, 2024. ZBM has helped the company improve product availability at stores by 73 per cent and simplified a lot of complexities at the back-end.
Commenting on the Zero Based Merchandising, Shah said the project has been much broader than just merchandising. “We are not only making sure the range is curated, the voice of the store is brought out, and therefore the relevant consumer cohort, but then making sure that simplicity comes through all across,” he added.
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Bata India reported a marginal increase of 1.2 per cent year-on-year in consolidated net profit at ₹58.69 crore for the third quarter this fiscal. Revenue from operations rose 1.69 per cent y-o-y to ₹918.79 crore during the quarter.
