Having One’s Share

The Bata Shoe Company is named after the family which founded it. Originally, the Bata family lived in Czechoslovakia, where they began manufacturing shoes as far back as 1620. Thomas Bata senior, father of the present proprietor, established a shoe factory for the first time in 1925. His career was cut short though when his private plane lost its bearings in heavy fog and crashed, burning him to death on the spot. On his father’s death, Thomas Bata junior became president of Bata Ltd.

The Bata Shoe Company, the largest shoe manufacturer in the world, is now doing business in 114 different countries, having sold 315 million pairs of shoes throughout the world in 1982. Its greatest volume of business is in Canada, with India ranking second. It has 90,000 direct employees not to mention thousands of indirect employees.

Mr. Thomas Bata junior visited India for the fortieth time in 1983. On this occasion, a correspondent asked him what he thought was the most important factor in his success. Mr. Bata replied, “In manufacturing shoes which range from cheap to costly, we take special care to fulfil the actual needs of our consumers. We do, in fact, look after our customers better than anyone else.”

What we learn from the Bata Shoe Company’s success is that if you want to take, you should try to give. It is only in giving to others that we can have our share too.