On International Women's Day, Bata India announced the opening of over 25 all-women-run outlets to honour the spirit of womanhood. According to a company statement, “As an organisation with a proud history of over 128 years, Bata has always championed the cause of women empowerment and been consistent in its Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) commitment to foster and nurture an environment that is conducive for their growth. The launch of the all women-run stores is yet another endeavour by the brand to empower and encourage women to fearlessly pursue their dreams and #BreakTheBias.”
Women-run stores can be found in metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai, as well as Tier 1-3 cities such as Pune, Nagpur, Udupi, Jamshedpur, and Vishakhapatnam.
Bata India Limited's MD & CEO, Gunjan Shah, stated, “Diversity & inclusion and empowering women to pursue their dreams has been a key part of very ethos at Bata India. Retail traditionally has been a male dominated space. By increasing the all women-run stores from 10 to over 25 now, we wanted to shatter the glass ceiling and encourage more women to become a part of the fashion retail industry. We have now 25 women-run stores across metros and smaller towns. I’m also heartened by the fact that we have now more women entrepreneurs who are coming up and partnering with us to open Bata franchise stores in smaller towns. At the grass-roots level, we continue to support girls’ school education under the Bata Children Program (BCP) initiative.”
