History
Originally, Bata set out to ‘Shoe the World’. This led us to where we are now:
The No.2 global footwear company and an international fashion icon.
1897
THE BATOVKA
THE SHOE THAT STARTED IT ALL
The Batovka was notable for its simplicity, style, and light weight.
Its innovative combination of leather and canvas – at a time when all-leather footwear was the norm – allowed Bata to offer a top-quality shoe at an unbeatable price.
It took off like a rocket.
A FAMILY BUSINESS
The T. & A. Baťa Shoe Company was established on September 21, 1894, by siblings Tomáš, Anna and Antonín Baťa – the eighth generation of Bata family shoemakers – in the rural town of Zlín, Czechoslovakia. They were innovators from the start, replacing the traditional one-man workshop with a 10-person (soon to be 50) enterprise.
1897 RISE OF THE MACHINES
The introduction of mechanised production techniques, including the first steam-driven shoemaking machines, initiated a period of rapid modernisation that allowed the company to become one of Europe's first mass producers of shoes.
1899
The first Bata store opens in Zlin, Czechoslovakia.
1905
Production grows to 2,200 pairs of shoes a day, making Bata the largest footwear company in Europe.
1912
600 full-time workers were employed by Bata.
1897
The Batovka was notable for its simplicity, style, and light weight. Its innovative combination of leather and canvas – at a time when all-leather footwear was the norm – allowed Bata to offer a top-quality shoe at an unbeatable price. It took off like a rocket.
1919
Ladies’ street footwear, leather, stitched through technology, production commenced in 1919, model from 1922.
1923
Men’s street footwear known as Shimmi, leather, stitched through technology, production commenced in 1923, model from 1925.
1936
BATA TENNIS
BATA’s GOLDEN AGE
Originally created for Indian school children, the pinstriped sneaker with the distinctive rubber toe guard became one of the best-selling shoes of all time – and is still sold around the world.
1930s SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Because Tomáš Bata believed that business had a responsibility to its employees, the company provided its workers with housing, schools, hospitals, libraries, and recreational facilities.
THE BATA SKYSCRAPER
At 77.5 meters (254 ft), Bata's head office - aka administration building no.21 – in Zlin, Czechoslovakia was the second-tallest building in Europe at the time of its construction.
Built of concrete, brick, metal and glass, the building was a landmark of 20th-century architecture. It included the world's first elevator office, which allowed the founder to move between floors without leaving his desk.
EXPANSION
Bata builds roads and canals, and employs company airplanes, boats and trucks, to export its shoes around the globe.
Bata cities based on the Zlín model are built throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. Many incorporate the company name, including Bataville in France, Batanagar in India, Batatuba in Brazil, Cali-Bata in Java, and Batawa in Canada.
PLEASANT SURROUNDINGS
People should live and work in pleasant surroundings.
In addition to factories, housing estates, schools and hospitals, other amenities such as cinemas and swimming pools were built for Bata employees.
1935
Bata factories manufacture 168,000 pairs of shoes every day.
By 1938, Bata has 65,000 full-time workers, up from 8300 just 10 years ago.
MULTINATIONAL
By 1938, Bata has a presence in more than 30 countries.
DIVERSITY OF INDUSTRIES
Operates 63 companies in a diversity of industries.
STORES
Owns 5300 stores in Europe, Asia and North America.
MILLIONS OF SHOES
Sells 60 million pairs of shoes a year.
STANDARD OF QUALITY
From Austria to Zambia, Bata stores set a standard of quality based on superior products, value for money, and unparalleled service.
LIFE IS MOVEMENT
So many people die
in bed because they
stop moving. If you
stop, you’re dead.
If you slow down,
you’re half-dead.
Life is movement… »
Tomáš Bata
1960
BATA AUTEUIL
THE ART OF DESIGN
Prouced by Bata factory in Hellocourt, France.
The perfect marriage of high quality and high fashion.
BATA ENLISTS RENOWNED MID-CENTURY DESIGNERS IN ITS ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS
Herbert Leupin, Donald Brun, and Guy Georget Nostrud exercitation.
Some of Bata's most famous advertising posters were produced in the 1940s and 50s - the golden age of advertising - by designers schooled in the plakatstill style.
Plakatstill (german for "poster style") was characterized by bold lettering, flat colours and simple compositions focusing on a single object.
Posters
THE WORLD's BRAND
The Bata name and logo have been translated into more than 14 languages.
In some areas, the word "Bata" became synonymous with "shoes" because it was the only manufactured footwear the local people knew.
1960s
BATA SNEAKERS
BATA BRINGS ITS A GAME
King of the Court. Manufactured by Bata in Maryland, USA, these incredibly popular, cutting-edge athletic shoes featured moulded soles,
Footbed® Insoles and Pacifate® lining. The shoe’s popularity led to numerous collaborations, including the “Wilson by Bata” John Wooden
signature model, in partnership with leading sports manufacturer Wilson Corp. and legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.
1950s - 1970s
The technologically advanced Wilson by Bata shoes used lightweight polyurethane for their soles years ahead of other manufacturers. The shoe remains one of the most influential sneakers of all time.
MAGIC
Hall of fame basketball player Earvin "Magic" Johnson launched his career wearing Wilson by Bata shoes.
BATA SPONSORING OF SPORTS
From racing, football and cricket, to cycling and tennis Bata was a major sponsor of local and international sporting events.
The success of Bata's basketball and football shoes led to rapid expansion of the sneaker line, including shoes for cycling (the famed Bata Biker), badminton, BMX (Batamax), gymnastics, boating, tennis, running, golfing, wrestling, and walking.
Sponsoring
BATA BIKER
Featuring a cool canvas upper, semi-rigid soles, and 3M reflective patches, this cycle touring shoe was slip-resistant without cleats and retailed for about $17 – one-third the price of competitors. For many in Canada and North America, the Bata Biker was their first cycling shoe.
TENIS SHOES
1978
The choice of champions.
Richard LaClede "Dick" Stockton, the #8-ranked tennis player in the world in 1978, and Anthony Jacklin, the first British player to win the Open Championship, were among the many athletes who endorsed Bata products in the 60s and 70s.
KRISTIEN SHAW WEARING BATA SHOES.
1977
BATA WILSON
BATA GOES POP
A great sport shoe that became a cultural icon.
It helped you win on the court and gave you traction in the world.
NIRVANA
Kurt Cobain wearing Bata Wilsons.
1969
Bata shoes advertising, Elle magazine.
(German Edition), September 1969.
1970s
Bata shoes are featured in Vogue, Elle and other fashion magazines.
Bata become a player in the international fashion scene, with products that can be found nearly everywhere on the planet.
1998
The Big Lebowski.
John Goodman sports Bata combat boots in the immensely popular cult film by the Coen brothers.
BATA STORE DISPLAYS
A reflection of the trends and mores of the times.
1999
Bata Flip-Flops make a splash.
The New York TImes Magazine special "Times Capsule" edition in December 1999 featured Robin Williams and a Bata "Hawaii" flip-flop on the cover. The same shoe – which is cheap, durable and particularly suited to the moonsoon season – is worn by 95% of the Indian population.
LUI MAGAZINE
2014
French actress and supermodel Laetitia Casta wears Bata Tennis.
In the December edition of Lui (France).
1894-2014
«The ONE»
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF BATA
Created to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Thomas J. Bata,
this limited-edition shoe celebrates the values that made the company great: comfort, quality and affordability.
1994
Bata celebrates its 100th anniversary.
THE FUTURE OF FOOTWEAR
For more than 13 decades, Bata has been on the leading edge of footwear design.
Today, professionals in Bata’s Shoe Innovation Centres around the world continue to dedicate themselves to discovering new shoe materials, developing advanced technologies, and creating fresh styles that blend fashion with comfort.
THE BATA FAMILY RECOGNITION
Thomas J. Bata and his wife Sonja meet Hillary Clinton in 2006.
THE BATA FAMILY CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD
Named after the founder of the Bata Shoe corporation, Thomas Bata University was established in 2001.
A TRUE "GLOCAL" CORPORATION WITH OVER 5000 RETAIL STORES
Dedicated e-commerce operations and 24 company-owned factories, Bata combines the best of global and local, effectively meeting the needs of consumers around the world.
FIRST INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR RESPONSIBLE CAPITALISM
Thomas Bata receives the prestigious FIRST Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Capitalism in 2007.
GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS
Bata is recognized in 2004 by Guinness World Records as the World's Largest Shoe Manufacturer and Retailer.
REVIVAL
Bata heritage collection.
To celebrate its 120th anniversary, the company released a special edition of the Bata Tennis – one of the best-selling shoes of all time – in 2015.
INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION
The Bata "Young Creator Award" was established to encourage young Czech designers. Winners get to have their shoes produced and sold by Bata.
The testament of Tomas Bata
The first condition for the thriving of our factory is that you don’t consider it as being only yours, only for you. Our factory was not built for the purpose of ensuring the existence of its founders. It was higher motives that caused us to suppress our own passions and whims if we saw them as harmful to the factory.
It was not only once that we were resolved to sacrifice our lives for the benefit of the factory and several members of our family have already made the sacrifice. One doesn’t do such things only to ensure property. We saw the development and ensuring of welfare of our entire region as resting in the development of our factory.
It was our pride and motivation to further grueling work when we saw that our factory brings new, as yet unknown life into our region, that its general development increased the overall welfare and education of our people.
It was a desire to create, provide continuously and to an ever increasing number of people participation in benefits provided by our factory both to employees and customers.
"As long as you serve this great idea, you will be in harmony with both natural and human principles".
The moment you start thinking only of yourselves, the moment you stop serving to the common good with your factory, you will become useless and fall inevitably.
Tomas Bata