hen Bata India, the 70-year-old subsidiary of Toronto-based Bata Shoe Organisation, organised a press meet last month, it was not simply an occasion to lay out its plans before the media. It was part of a bigger strategy. One that entails cleaning up its balance sheet on the one hand, and on the other, projecting a new image for Bata - that of a brand in step with time.

Bata executives present at the function said that the company will post a net profit in 2005 and wipe out its entire accumulated losses in the next two years. That apart, to become a leaner organisation, it will introduce another round of VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) targetting 800 employees. With a new strategy in place, the footwear company is looking to post a 12 per cent rise in sales at Rs 840 crore in 2005 over an estimated Rs 750 crore in 2004. ... more