Bata’s casual bet pays off: Floats crosses ₹100 crore in sales, heads for ₹200 crore mark

Bata India is seeing early returns on a deep transformation effort, with its casual footwear line ‘Floats’ crossing ₹100 crore in sales and now on track to touch ₹200 crore, says MD and CEO Gunjan Shah. “It’s been the fastest in our history to hit ₹100 crore,” Shah told Fortune India. The success is built on a strategic shift that puts product innovation and consumer comfort at the centre of the brand’s evolution—driven by post-COVID shifts in buying behaviour and style preferences.

The company reported a 27.8% drop in its consolidated net profit to ₹45.92 crore for Q4 FY25, compared to ₹63.65 crore a year ago. Revenue for the quarter fell marginally to ₹788.21 crore. However, annual profit surged 46% to ₹330.66 crore for FY25, even as revenue remained flat at ₹3,488.79 crore.

Over the last three years, Bata has expanded its casual footwear portfolio from just 40% to nearly 60% of its total range. “Consumers are looking for casual comfort while still wanting to look stylish,” Shah said, adding that the company developed a proprietary compound called Flow Foam to support this shift.

To catch up with evolving consumer expectations, Bata is also reinventing its retail experience. “We’ve renovated half our network under ‘Red 2.0’ and introduced zero-waste merchandising,” said Shah, noting the focus on decluttering store layouts and aligning assortments with local consumer cohorts.

The company is expanding its footprint into smaller towns through franchise-led growth. “From almost zero four years ago, we now have close to 600 franchise stores—mostly in tier 2 and 3 towns,” Shah said, adding that this model allows them to access high-growth markets while keeping costs lean. “The next four years should take this to 1,000.”

On the premiumisation front, Bata is scaling up its Hush Puppies brand, which now has 150 exclusive brand outlets—50% more than pre-COVID levels. “Our comfort-focused women's range under 'Bata Comfort' sells at 1.5 to 2 times the average store price, yet is affordable compared to market standards,” Shah said, highlighting the company’s focus on democratising technology and style.

Meanwhile, e-commerce remains Bata’s fastest-growing channel for the fifth year running, bolstered by an expanding omni-channel offering and early experiments with quick commerce. “Honestly, we didn’t expect quick commerce to work for footwear—but we’re amazed by the demand,” Shah said.