BATA Kenya

The company has sold more than 14 billion pairs of shoes since it was established in 1894. "Though the organisation was newly established, the family had a long history of shoemaking, spanning eight generations and over three hundred years. This heritage helped boost the popularity of the new firm. With the introduction of factory-style production and long distance retailing, Bata modernised the shoe-making industry and the company surged ahead in production and profits right from its nascent years," states the Wikipedia. Eventually, Bata obtained sole control over the company in 1908 after his brother Jan died from tuberculosis. Information from various web sources indicate that World War I helped to create booming demand for military shoes, and the company quickly became one of the prime brands. Bata also exhibited his business acumen, with initiatives aimed at producing low-cost shoes for the general public, whose purchasing power had been significantly reduced in the aftermath of the war. He also set up factories and companies in other countries like Poland, Yugoslavia, India, the Netherlands, Denmark, UK and the United States. The factories were self-sufficient and autonomous in their design, production and distribution strategies-a move Bata hoped would enable them cater to the local population. This worked out well and by early 1930s, the Bata enterprise was the world's leading footwear exporter. Bata is widely regarded as a businessman with an acute sense of social consciousness. He is said to be one of the first pioneers of employee welfare and social advancement schemes. He was also credited with efforts to modernise his hometown, providing the people with employment and housing facilities. These made him very popular in the town and he eventually became its mayor. "We are granting you the profit share not because we feel a need to give money to the people just out of the goodness of the heart. No, we are aiming at other goals by this step. By this measure we want to reach a further decrease of production costs. We want to reach a situation where shoes are cheaper and workers earn even more. We think that our products are still too expensive and workers' salaries too low," Bata once told employees at the shoe factory in Czechoslovakia.