Bat has been honored with the Most Admired Brand of the year 2006-07 in the Footwear category and acknowledged as one of India's Top 10 super brands. On April 12, 2007, they were presented with the Super Brands Award. Furthermore, Bat has expanded their presence into the retail industry and presently manages 1250 stores throughout India. Their initial strategy involved positioning themselves as a comprehensive family store for footwear and related items. They primarily catered to the middle-class market but also made efforts to attract high-class customers.
Bat had transformed into a necessary and prominent brand. In terms of fulfilling various needs, Bat had effectively positioned itself as a brand that catered to the requirements of every family member. Whether it was products for children, men, or women, Bat had an extensive
...product range to satisfy all. Until the asses, Bat held a near-monopoly in the organized footwear market. Their unassuming yet distinctive brown leather sandals and blue- and-white rubber slippers were easily identifiable and continue to be so. Bat was the preferred choice for the entire family.
The brand Bat had a diverse range of shoes to offer for every member of the Indian household, including shoes for the monsoon, school shoes, formal wear, and comfort wear for the elderly. In India, there was a time when the mention of shoes or chapels would instantly bring up the name Bat, which was just as popular as Data. Bat was a well-known household name and dominated the market as the leader for many years. However, in recent times, numerous national and international brands have emerged, challenging Bat's position. The loyal Bat shoe enthusiasts wer
so devoted that considering any other brand for their footwear needs was seen as an unpatriotic act.
People proudly wore Bat, according to Mr. Ammonia Sings. Additionally, Bat has introduced new brands such as hush puppies and Marie Claire, offering various footwear styles including patent, metallic, and ethnic designs. The youth has responded positively to the recently launched ladies handbags.
Examples
Dry. School is a brand of medicated footwear that combines practicality with a stylish appearance. Recommended by doctors for individuals with nerve problems, diabetes, and related medical conditions.
Originally available only through prescription, this product is now being purchased by individuals due to their own interest in it, providing a great growth opportunity. Bat has developed multiple models for this product, offering an advantage over standard designs made by local physiotherapists. The Sandal, Fatality, and Sunshine labels have consistently attracted millions of customers with their fashionable and lightweight footwear suitable for all types of weather, thanks to the footwear's lightweight construction.
Why Repositioning
Bat was considered as a manufacturing-oriented company that focuses on producing and selling footwear in the market by any means.
Bat India desired to transform its perception as a production-oriented company to become an affordable, market-driven, fashion-conscious, and lifestyle brand. This led Bat to undertake repositioning efforts in order to dissociate itself from the outdated impression of a seller solely focused on their manufactured goods. The company now prioritizes providing products that cater to customer preferences rather than merely producing footwear and selling them in the market.
Bat aimed to transform its reputation from a manufacturing company to a marketing company, striving to become an affordable, market-driven, fashion-conscious lifestyle
brand. To enhance brand awareness, they are expanding their presence with larger stores in malls. Additionally, they have modernized their stores to project a more contemporary image, departing from their long-standing perception. The company's strategy involves increasing visibility in shopping malls, adopting the franchisee model, and establishing shop-in-shop experiences within multi-branded stores.
To revive the Bat brand, the company is undergoing a transformation into a fashion-forward lifestyle brand that follows market trends. Recently, Bat India has incorporated global styles and trends for women, men, and kids to create a modern and stylish image. Additionally, they have redesigned their marketing strategy by introducing different types of stores like Flagship, City, Family, and Bazaar stores to cater to various market segments.
To capitalize on the retail boom in the country, the company plans to relocate its headquarters to Surgeon this year. They also aim to enhance the shopping experience for customers by hiring skilled salespeople and creating a better atmosphere. Some examples include Hush puppies, a unique invention that not only changes the type of shoes we wear but also signifies the start of today's relaxed style. This innovation utilizes bounce technology for shock absorption and energy return with every step. The Hush Puppies collection features innovative and authentic casual footwear, incorporating a blend of soft casual leathers and worry-free suede by Hush Puppies.
North Star
North Star represents street credibility with its stylish, trendy, comfortable, and durable range of shoes. Specifically designed for the urban environment, this brand appeals to the youth market with its retro styles from the late 1900s and modern interpretations. As a result, North Star has become a highly sought-after
brand. The casual yet fashionable street-style shoes cater to the young generation.
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a shoe brand with a touch of elegance that targets young cosmopolitan women. Bat Brands owns the trademark for Marie Claire shoes worldwide. The brand represents contemporary and modern styling, suitable for an active lifestyle while still being elegant and feminine. It offers subtle fashion trend details and high-quality products with a polished finish. Marie Claire boosts every woman's confidence and allows for individual style. Bat uses advertising, sales promotion, and segmentation strategy in promoting the brand.
TAG-LINE
The advertising strategy for Bat retail stores involves creating catchy tag-lines that are tailored to the specific audience. These tag-lines are prominently displayed on hoardings in busy areas of cities where the stores are located. Some examples of these tag-lines include 'Shoes for all', 'The world moves on your feet', 'Outdoor is yours', 'Get comfortable today', and 'One world, one Bat'. These one-liners resonate with people and effectively convey the message of the brand.
Bat promotes its products through print advertisements right before the release of any new scheme.
The platform provided by displaying ads in leading newspapers helps in establishing a brand for new products in customers' minds. These ads occupy a full page and are selected based on people's preferences. Additionally, pamphlets of the ads are included with the newspaper. Television is also utilized as an effective advertising platform, especially considering the family-oriented nature of the brand. Therefore, the ads are strategically aired during prime time to ensure that the entire family can view them together.
Bat bill-boards are displayed on prime locations in different
cities as a means of brand building in road side advertising.
When Rain Musketeer became the brand endorser for Bat, their sales doubled.
Bat has launched Bat Industrials, a specialized division that provides specialized footwear to various sectors including defense, automobiles, metals, petroleum, construction, and agriculture. Bat Industrials is recognized as the global leader in producing high-performance safety shoes and possesses extensive experience and expertise in this market segment. It has access to top-notch technology and knowledge on safety footwear.
In order to uphold its position as a leader and continue growing, the company is expanding by opening 200 new stores within the next 2 years.
These stores will function under the four-tiered retail format, comprising Up-market Flagship Stores, Smart and Trendy City Stores, Super Stores, and Traditional Family Stores. This innovative format allows the company to extend its reach into new areas. Retail shops are crucial for making purchasing decisions. Bat stores now offer expansive retail spaces, with certain stores surpassing 10,000 sq. ft.
BELOW THE LINE SALES PROMOTION: Below the line sales promotions refer to short-term incentives primarily targeted at consumers.
The different tactics used by Bat to achieve this are as follows:
- PRICE PROMOTION: Price promotion includes giving discounts on the regular selling price of products. Bat, a well-known family footwear brand with showrooms throughout the city, is currently offering up to a 30% discount on a wide variety of footwear such as shoes, sandals, chapels, ladies' footwear, kids' footwear, and men's footwear. This promotion can be availed at all Bat footwear showrooms in Hydrated.
Bat regularly organizes stock clearance sales to boost their sales.
Furthermore, in the footwear retail industry, Bat India has introduced a distinctive program known as "Bat Gift Vouchers". These vouchers provide customers with an alternative to cash and are available in various denominations, providing them with a wide range of footwear options. The purpose of these vouchers is to serve employee incentives, rewards, corporate gifting, and customer promotions.
In addition, they are highly suitable for various customer promotions such as loyalty reward points redemption, sales promotion, and contests.
The "Magic Formula" of Bat is its ability to offer competitive and appealing prices to its customers. They provide products that cater to all types of feet and social classes, ensuring that every member of the family can find suitable footwear. According to Villagers, Bat is a brand that provides excellent value for money. Furthermore, Bat has an exchange policy that allows customers to exchange unused and clean products within 7 days, as long as they are in their original packaging.
Market Segmentation
In India, there are three income groups with different percentages: India A (14%) includes individuals with high disposable income, India B (50%) comprises the middle class and middle class group, and India C (36%) encompasses the lower income class group.
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: The findings reveal that Bat's target market encompasses all social classes - lower, middle, and upper. However, Bat is reducing its focus on selling footwear to the lower segment due to the complete domination of Chinese products in the market. The presence of in-house brands enables Bat to cater to its upper and middle-class segments.
Bat caters to the needs of males, females, and children equally. The school shoes sold by
Bat are highly notable and have the highest sales. All Bat stores embody the new concept by offering premium brands like hush puppies and Marie Claire. Ladies' shoes generate the highest revenue for Bat, contributing 30% to the company's overall revenue. This is followed by men's shoes, children's shoes, school shoes, and sports shoes. The stores always have new collections on offer and provide visually appealing displays. Therefore, we can conclude that their current target customer base encompasses the entire market segment.
GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: Bat products are specifically created to meet the preferences of individuals from different regions in India, as it positions itself as an indigenous Indian footwear brand. With a nationwide presence spanning over 1200 stores, Bat has effectively established its identity as an authentic Indian product. Bat stores can be found easily across the country, providing footwear suitable for various seasons including monsoon, summer, and winter.
Bat is a product for all Indians.
CRYPTOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: Bat caters to a wide range of customers with its affordable prices and diverse product selection. It is a popular choice among people from all walks of life, thanks to its high-quality products available at reasonable prices. They provide shoes for various seasons, age groups, and genders.
GLOBAL EXISTENCE OF BAT: Bat is one of the world's leading footwear retailers and manufacturers with operations across 5 continents managed by 3 regional meaningful business units (Mbps).
The MBA program offers valuable resources and assistance to companies in various areas like product development, sourcing, and marketing support. Each MBA has an entrepreneurial spirit and can easily adjust to market changes to take advantage of growth opportunities. Bat's
global presence is its strong suit. Although local companies have autonomy, they still benefit from their association with the international organization for back-office systems, product innovations, and sourcing.
IN AFRICA: Despite being a continent where many adult individuals pass away prematurely without ever owning a new pair of shoes, Africa's primary school children are familiar with the brand Bat, which is widely known and recognized in major cities across the continent. Thomas Bat, the Chief Executive and son of the company's founder, Ian Austin Urination - anytime), has recently passed away.
The story reveals that the creator of approximately 300 million pairs of shoes per year was indeed the head of this "shoemaker for the world" company. Like many other businesses in Africa, they faced challenges in this demanding market. However, Thomas Bat's statement confirming that their expansion into Africa was driven by the goal to sell shoes is more straightforward than what others have stated. What I am confident about is that he found effective ways to sell shoes to a continent with a significantly high number of people without footwear. BAT Masterpieces!!! 4.
Analysis and generic competition to the brand:
ANALYSIS: Bat is the largest shoe company in India in terms of sales and revenues. It commands around 35 percent of the market share in India. The company's revenue is primarily generated from domestic operations, accounting for 98 percent. Bat owns approximately 1250 stores throughout India. The company that demonstrated the highest level of early commitment to the Indian market was undoubtedly Bat. The shoe major invested in a fairly elaborate distribution network with company-owned retail shops even in small towns. Additionally,
Bat took the bold approach of targeting mass markets rather than solely focusing on premium segments.
Bat primarily focused on offering affordable products to the middle-class population of India. It successfully captured market share without being recognized as an NC (niche competitor). However, in the late asses, Bat started targeting more high-end market segments, which deviated from its initial strategy. Nevertheless, the brand managed to establish a strong presence across various customer segments, displaying effective positioning. The brand's segmentation and targeting approach were well-executed. Despite experiencing growth in sales, Bat faced the challenge of not redesigning its product range and continued with a similar offering.
Many competitors entered the market and took advantage of this, resulting in Bat's market share decreasing from 50 percent to 10 percent. In response, Bat decided to change its strategy and focus on addressing a larger market by introducing new product lines and brands. Additionally, Bat prioritized "quality sales" and emphasized consumer satisfaction. This decision was made because Bat recognized that while quantity sales could increase turnover, without quality it would only maintain consumer confidence, which had taken a long time to build.
Bat's promotional activities are minimal and their efforts to revamp the brand are not effectively communicated. People's perception of Bat will always remain unchanged at a larger scale. Their promotion is limited to seasonal offers labeled as "Sale," but lacks advertisement. There are hardly any Bat ads visible to customers in both print and media, resulting in low returns despite significant efforts to revamp the brand.
Product Line
Bat now offers a wider range of products.
They offer a variety of products, including children's, men's, and
women's footwear, as well as sandals, canvas shoes, sunshine shoes, athletic shoes, and accessories. These product lines contain many different types of footwear. ANALYSIS USING 4 AS IN THE MARKET: PRODUCT: Bat offers a wide range of footwear options, including shoes, canvas shoes, belly shoes, leather shoes, sandals, school shoes, and floppies. PRICE: Pricing is an important aspect of Bat's products, and they strive to offer competitive and customer-friendly prices.
Bat offers products for all market segments, implementing a strategy known as the "95 paisa price tag." This strategy is designed to engage potential buyers who are curious about prices such as RSI 299.95. The intention is to make the price seem lower than it actually is. Bat frequently has sales throughout the year, with some products remaining on sale consistently. In terms of location, Bat provides a retail store where customers can find a wide range of footwear options conveniently under one roof.
In every metropolitan city, Bat can be found in prime areas as well as in cities all throughout India. Many consider Bat to be a trustworthy option for their footwear needs. As for promotion, Bat relies less on advertising and instead focuses on providing sales in their current product lines. Additionally, Bat promotes itself by offering international and premium brands such as hush puppies, Marie Claire, and more. Despite holding a market share of 13.7 percent, Bat faces strong competition from various organized and unrecognized sectors.
Bat has successfully surpassed its competitors and has maintained a strong market share. However, it needs to monitor other manufacturers and devise a strategy to counter their moves. The main competitors in the organized
sector are Alaskan Shoes, Liberty Shoes, Action Shoes, Woodland, Paragon, and Relax. In addition, Bat also faces significant competition from Chinese footwear, which is imported from China. This entry of Chinese footwear into the Indian market forced Bat to change its policies and resulted in major financial losses. As a result, Bat's market share dropped to 10%, which was a significant setback for the company. In response, Bat decided to shift its focus away from the lower segment, where Chinese shoes had an advantage in terms of low prices, and instead concentrate on other segments like premium brands. The biggest competition for Bat comes from the ladies footwear division, particularly from local manufacturers and Chinese shoemakers in the unrealized sector. Over time, Bat has adopted various strategies to tackle competition and expand its presence in the prime market. The key value propositions offered by Bat include reasonable quality at low or reasonable prices, footwear for the entire family, footwear catering to various functional needs such as sports, casual wear, and formal-semi formal wear, and conveniently accessible outlets across the country.
Before the inclusion of local players and Chinese imports, Bat possessed a certain level of social recognition, being one of the dominant brands in the country along with another company. Bat holds a significant advantage in terms of brand identity and availability at various price ranges, but it does face competition from imported products and the untapped market.
Ñompetitive Advantage Above the Other Brands: Manufacturing
Bat is emphasizing its global presence and importing best practices from other countries to meet manufacturing demands for more fashionable lines with lower volumes. It is leveraging its expertise in
Malaysia for rubber-based shoes and in China for artificial leather shoes.
The customer value proposition of Bat is significant. It offers value for money, which is combined with the trust that its customers have because of the established Bat brand.
Bat consistently fulfills its commitment to being a one-stop shop for families by providing easy access, diverse functionality, and multiple selection options. The company maintains high service standards to guarantee customer satisfaction. Consequently, customers are willing to pay a slightly premium price for Bat's brand, which makes it less susceptible to price undercutting by competitors.
Bat is working on restoring its internal processes which include operations management, customer management, innovation, and regulatory and social processes. By making modifications to the operations management processes, Bat aims to achieve low costs through economies of scale from specialist regions worldwide supplying products. Additionally, by manufacturing stable high illume products locally at Bat plants, import duties will no longer be a barrier.
LEARNING AND GROWTH: Bat is making a significant effort to train its human resource, particularly those at the outlets. This is to ensure that consistent quality service is provided to customers, allowing them to have the same experience at any of Bat's outlets. The company promotes a culture of empowerment and appoints young, energetic managers to fill any leadership void that may arise. Additionally, longer leadership stints for top executives are encouraged.
Coos would be necessary for the company to implement the strategy and lead them towards their goals. By making these changes, Bat will be better equipped to face the challenges presented by its competitors. 6. Bat India MD Marcelo Villagers states that their distribution strategy,
which involves opening large format stores, has proven successful in the current market, and they plan to continue investing in expanding their retail business. Additionally, they have also prioritized offering customers a new trendy collection and improved shoe designs.
Our growth can be attributed to our value pricing and improved customer service. Bat has expanded its retail presence in major metro and big cities, renovating important stores and securing more space in high-quality retail outlets. Currently, we have 1200 company-owned stores in 400 cities across India, and we are also reaching rural markets through our dealer network. Our three-pronged strategy involves establishing 60 large-format stores annually (with a minimum area of 3,000 sq ft), closing down underperforming stores, and focusing on institutional business.
We are focusing on product design to create a modern look for our product, which will be available in retail stores and suitable for various occasions. We are also expanding our offerings to cater to men, ladies, sports personnel, and children. To gather feedback from customers and conduct research, we have established a regular customer feedback process. Our staff is currently undergoing training to enhance their skills. In order to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, we have implemented a multi-pronged sourcing strategy. Additionally, we are streamlining our manufacturing operations. The wholesale division has been restructured into four separate distribution channels: urban and institutional, safety, and a ranging segment with the aim of increasing impact and improving sales.
The stores are operated in a four-tier retail format consisting of new model market flagship stores, smart and trendy city stores, super stores, and traditional family stores. This allows the company to better serve its customers
in areas where it currently has no presence. "The large-format stores are primarily run by franchises. The company spends approximately RSI 2 crore per store on the new-design store interiors," stated Bat chairman P M Sinai. These newly designed stores enable Bat to offer its modern and fashionable range of footwear in an international-style outlet, even in smaller towns.
The company heavily relies on institutional business. According to Sinai, they are planning to produce shoes specifically designed for hospitals, military forces, factory workers, and airlines. Additionally, they are launching a new line of sports shoes in India this year that will rival top sportswear brands in the market. In order to secure contracts, the company has established a specialized team led by a retired defense personnel. The annual market size for footwear used by the defense personnel amounts to approximately 12 million pairs.
- Wal-Mart essays
- Discover essays
- Clothing essays
- Footwear essays
- Fashion design essays
- Cosmetic Surgery essays
- Jeans essays
- Advertisement essays
- Advertising essays
- Anheuser-busch essays
- Audience Theory essays
- Brand essays
- Brands essays
- Competitor Analysis essays
- Consumer essays
- Detergent essays
- Marketing Management essays
- Marketing Mix essays
- Marketing Plan essays
- Marketing Research essays
- Marketing Strategy essays
- New Product Development essays
- Point Of Sale essays
- Price essays
- Procurement essays
- Product essays
- Product Differentiation essays
- Product Placement essays
- Promotion essays
- Promotion And Marketing Communications essays
- Research Design essays
- Retailing essays
- Trademark essays
- Activity essays
- Believe essays
- Comfort Zone essays
- Dance essays
- Fashion essays
- Fishing essays
- Fitness essays
- Freedom essays
- Habits essays
- Healthy Lifestyle essays
- Hobby essays
- Hunting essays
- Interests essays
- Justification essays
- Moment essays
- Optimism essays
- Peace essays