Bata India increases all women-run stores count to over 25

Bata India, footwear brand, has announced the launch of over 25 all women-run stores ahead of International Women’s Day. "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," it said in a press release.

The women-run stores are operational in not only metros like New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai but also Tier 1-3 towns like Pune, Nagpur, Udupi, Jamshedpur and Vishakhapatnam.

Gunjan Shah, MD&CEO-Bata India Limited said: “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.”