Our first Prime Minster, Shri Jawahar Lal Nehru had rightly said “Achievement to celebrate today is but a step, and opening of opportunity to greater triumphs and achievement that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?”

We at IFCOMA are geared to bring to our members and subscribers from footwear industry a comprehensive two-way dialogue area through this Newsletter.

The newsletter is a dedicated effort from IFCOMA to help in achieving the footwear component industry a new dimension.

Besides highlighting the association's activities in the last quarter. We have also tried to project the new frontiers of challenges and the advices & opinion of the stalwarts.

The future stands with multifold challenges for the footwear manufacturers and in turn these challenges will have to be faced by the component industry. A strong component industry will automatically pave the way for the success of the footwear producing industry.

In the coming issues, we intend to focus more on the interaction of the component industry with the footwear industry. The coordination and communication gap between these two industries must certainly be narrowed done. We will appreciate and will welcome your valuable suggestions, guidance and comments to make this Newsletter "a pioneer" in its field.

Editorial Board


B.D.Bhaiya
Pradeep Aggarwal

Send your feedback,comments to: The Editor IFCOMA FDDI Complex, A-10/A, Sector-24, NOIDA - 201301, India. Tel: +91-120-4411224 Fax: +91-120-4411572 Email: Ifcoma@vsnl.com Website : www.ifcoma.org

He is been described as a person who stings right and left with equal passion. A description that hugely amuses the Managing Director of Bata India Ltd., Mr. Stephen J Davies. Excerpts of his role in taking his Company to the newer heights and his advise to the component industry from an interview with Mr. B.D. Bhaiya, Vice President (east), IFCOMA.

IFCOMA : You are heading the biggest shoe company in the country. Could you tell more about your background and your role in redefining Bata of today ?

SJD : Bata India Ltd is the largest shoe manufacturing and distributing company in India. With its 7 manufacturing units, 2 in-house tanneries and 16 strategic ware houses, Bata sales approx. 60 million pairs of footwear in India. Apart from its production, Bata also out sources locally and imports one-third of finished footwear. With an experience of more than 34 years in footwear and retailing business and experience in 6 countries, I find this role quite challenging. Backed with the biggest chain of retail stores, Bata is the un-disputed leader in the Indian footwear Industry. We are going through a major re-organization and you will see a new face of Bata in years to come.

IFCOMA : How do you plan to re-organise your firm ? What major changes do we see in Bata ?

SJD : The move is in new direction with a very paradigm approach of meeting customer's demanding needs. Bata has already migrated from long conveyer chain production facility to small modular facility to be more customer responsive and to manufacture different varieties of footwear in short lead time. Moreover, Bata is also changing its distribution network. The Company is geared to cater to different market segments by its new ways of retail stores. Bata is now focusing on meeting the very diversified Indian market by way of Flagship stores (in Mall), Family stores, Bazaar Stores and Retail stores. The products distributed in the Flagship store would be valued added products and for the upper middle class while the other stores would be respectively catering to different segments of the Indian consumers. Bata has already opened its 2-flagship stores in Delhi. By end of January the newest store will be coming up in Mumbai. By end of year 2004, there will almost 12 such stores in the country.

IFCOMA : How do you see these changes reflecting in the footwear component industry ? How are these change in Bata make difference to your component suppliers ?

SJD : This change in production outfit, itself opens new doors to the footwear component manufacturers. As the Company would be looking to procure varieties of components for different varieties of footwear.