- Footwear manufacturer Bata India is in talks with sportswear giant Adidas for a strategic partnership.
- Through the collaboration, Adidas is likely to use Bata India’s retail network to boost its presence in India, the report added.
- Bata India, the flagship of Netherlands-based Bata BN, has more than 2,050 stores across the country.
- The corporation is one of the world’s leading shoemakers by volume with 150 million pairs of shoes sold annually.
- The talks with Adidas are likely at an advanced stage with final deal contours in the works, a media reports.
Footwear manufacturer Bata India is in talks with sportswear giant Adidas for a strategic partnership, CNBC-TV18 reported on Thursday citing sources, sending shares up as much as 7.3%. Through the collaboration, Adidas is likely to use Bata India’s retail network to boost its presence in India, the report added.
Bata India, the flagship of Netherlands-based Bata BN, houses brands like Hush Puppies and Scholl and has more than 2,050 stores across the country, according to its latest annual report. The talks with Adidas are likely at an advanced stage with final deal contours in the works, CNBC-TV18 said on the social media platform.
The report came in after the Gurugram-based manufacturer in its annual report mentioned that it has expanded its range of sneakers to more than 500 of its stores in a bid to cater to increased demand. Sneakers continued to be a dominant category for the company as demand for athleisure footwear surged on the back of sports and adventure events, Bata India said in its annual report.
The Bata Corporation, known as Bata, is a multinational footwear, apparel, and fashion accessories manufacturer and retailer of Moravian (Czech) origin, headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The corporation is one of the world’s leading shoemakers by volume with 150 million pairs of shoes sold annually. It has a retail presence of over 5,300 shops in more than 70 countries across five continents and 21 production facilities in 18 countries. Bata is an employer to over 32,000 people globally.
A family-owned business for over 125 years, the company is organized into three business units: Bata, Bata Industrials (safety shoes), and AW Lab (sports style). Bata is a portfolio company with more than 20 brands and labels, such as Bata, North Star, Power, Bubblegummers, Weinbrenner, Sandak, and Toughees.
Adidas stylized in all lowercase since 1949 is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which also owns an 8.33% stake in the football club Bayern München and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company.
The company was started by Adolf Dassler in his mother’s house. He was joined by his elder brother Rudolf in 1924 under the name Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik (“Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory”).
(With inputs from agencies)
