Fresh plans for Bata Sri Lanka as new MD Anand takes over

Vikas Anand has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Bata Sri Lanka from December, 2011. He succeeds Cesar Alex Panduro Arevalo, who moves to Mexico to take over as Finance Director for Latin America. Vikas Anand was working as Vice President – Non Retail Sales in Bata India Limited, one of the biggest and profitable operations of Bata shoe organisation prior to his taking over as Managing Director of Bata Sri Lanka. He possesses many years of wide experience in the field of retailing, merchandising and channel sales in Bata India.

He has held several key positions in Bata India during his long tenure of 23 years in brand management and wholesale operations. During his last tenure in Non Retail Sales Division, he along with his team evolved Non Retail Sales Division as one of the high growth & profitable divisions of Bata India Limited. With this extensive experience in sales and marketing, Vikas plans to make substantial improvements in the operation of Bata Sri Lanka to achieve over 20% business growth in 2012. His focus would be to upgrade Bata stores with modern retailing concepts across the island to provide better customer service.

The entire operations would be rejuvenated by refreshing shoe line collection offering international and trendy styles at affordable prices. Bata Sri Lanka currently offers complete range of footwear for entire family covering all categories for customers who seek quality, comfort and fashion. Emphasis will also be to increase the distribution coverage of Bata Brands in smaller towns and rural areas by increasing the number of dealers.

Aggressive plans are in pipeline to launch Bata Industrials collection to address safety footwear market which is growing in the country.

Bata has been a household name in Sri Lanka for many decades with strong retail network of 88 stores spread across the island and wide dealer network. The store layout is designed to provide comfortable shopping experience to the entire family with clearly segmented areas for ladies, gents, and children shoes to enable the customers to select their requirements. Customer friendly service is provided by well-trained sales staff in all the stores. Bata Sri Lanka has already upgraded some of its stores to international standards.

The company is constantly upgrading the shoe line collection is with more trendier and youthful designs with great value pricing to ensure the customer find satisfaction and give their patronage to the brand. Besides providing direct jobs to the people in manufacturing, Bata Sri Lanka always encourages indirect employment through its business partners. Bata Shoe Organisation, as the parent company will ensure its full support to make this endeavour a success.