Footwear major Bata India is reportedly in talks with German sportswear giant Adidas for a strategic partnership.
The talks are said to be in an advanced stage and final deal contours are in the works, CNBC TV18 reported, citing unnamed sources.
The partnership talks come amid a slowdown in the company’s financial performance. The company’s net profit tumbled by 10 percent to ₹1.19 billion, while its revenue from operations posted a mere two percent rise to reach ₹9.58 billion in Q1FY24.
That was the slowest revenue growth since the March quarter of 2021 as the company, which is better known for its formal shoes, grapples with a growing consumer preference for casual wear.
Bata’s strategy: Revitalising innovation and expansion
Bata has lagged its peers due to a slow pace of innovation and ebbing brand pull, while its lower-price products have grown at a slower pace, brokerage Ambit Capital had said in a note in May.
Earlier, in an interview with PTI, Bata India’s Managing Director and CEO Gunjan Shah said that the company plans to re-enter the premium price points with fresh portfolios, while it increases spending on advertising and promotions to connect with young digital savvy consumers.
The shoemaker is also pushing for offline sales growth and expects a major chunk of growth to come from its expansion under the franchise model, where it plans to add another 125 stores in FY24 and increase its presence at multi-brand outlets (MBOs).
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