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Case Study

Bata India limited (A): Bankruptcy or turnaround

By Charles Dhanaraj and Ivy Buche

16 pages

December 2014

Reference: IMD-7-1624

Bata India Ltd, the largest footwear retailer and manufacturer in India, was one of the most successful multinational companies in the country with a 70-year long legacy. With liberalization and opening up of the Indian economy, the company faced multiple challenges – in terms of brand image, product portfolio, manufacturing costs, industrial relations, retail presence, and customer preferences – which was further aggravated by stiff competition from new domestic and international competitors entering the domestic retail footwear business. Bata India started losing its grip on the market and reported consecutive losses from 2002 to 2004. Case A is set in 2005, when Marcelo Villagran takes charge as the new Managing Director of Bata India with the urgent mandate to turnaround the company. The case requires participants to develop an action plan for managing the business turnaround and organizational change at Bata India.

Learning Objective

1) Understanding organizational performance in the context of an emerging market (India); 2) Developing skills in diagnostic analysis and action plan formulation for organizational turnaround; 3) Understanding the underlying reasons behind the poor industrial relations and consumer orientation of firms in emerging markets; 4) Building change plans for improving labor productivity and consumer orientation in poorly performing firms.

Keywords

Emerging Market Strategy, Change Management, Organizational Change, Transformation, Turnaround Strategy, Growth Strategy

Settings

Asia, India
Bata Shoes, Consumer Services, Retail, Consumer Goods, Footwear
2005

Type

Field Research

Available Languages

English

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