Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – Bata Shoes, a legendary footwear brand, closed one of its factories in Purwakarta, West Java. They admitted that it was difficult to carry out operations in the wake of mounting losses.
Bata Director Hatta Tutuko said the company had made various efforts over the last four years amidst industrial losses and challenges due to the pandemic and rapid changes in consumer behavior. However, unfortunately, these efforts were not optimal and resulted in the closure of the factory.
“The company is no longer able to continue production at the Purwakarta factory, because customer demand for the types of products made at the Purwakarta Factory continues to decline and the factory’s production capacity far exceeds the needs that can be obtained sustainably from local suppliers in Indonesia,” said Hatta in the IDX information disclosure, quoted on Sunday (5/5/2024).
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO RESUME CONTENT
Referring to the financial report as of December 31, 2023, Bata recorded a loss for the year attributable to the parent entity of IDR 190.29 billion. This value will increase by 79.65% from IDR 105.92 billion in 2022.
Along with this decline, Bata’s net sales were recorded at IDR 609.61 billion in 2023 or down 5.26% year on year (yoy) compared to the previous year, namely IDR 643.45 billion.
The downward trend in Bata’s profits has been going on for four years. In 2020, or the period when the Covid-19 quarantine began, Bata recorded a loss of IDR 177.76 billion in 2020, a drastic decrease from the previous recorded profit of IDR 23.44 billion.
In 2021, the net loss improved to a net loss of IDR 51.2 billion and increased again in 2022 to IDR 105.91 billion.
Global Brand
If you remember, Bata is the brand of choice that Indonesians go to when buying new shoes, whether for school or work.
Cheap prices, good quality and easy to obtain are the reasons people buy them. Apart from that, Bata has also stood the test of time because it has existed in Indonesia since 1931.
As a result, Indonesians are familiar with this shoe brand. Moreover, the word “Brick” is registered as a vocabulary word in the KBBI which means “a rectangular object such as a box or small chest”.
Because of the existence of this brand, many people think that Bata comes from Indonesia. However, in reality it is all wrong. Yes, Bata shoes are not a domestic product, but rather a European product from the Czech Republic. The word “Bata” is actually taken from its founder and creator, namely Tomas Bata.
Tomas is a Czech businessman. With capital from his mother’s loan of US$ 350, he and his brothers founded the Bata shoe factory in Zlin on August 24 1894.
Since then, he has often traveled looking for inspiration for making shoes. He also learned to look for a shoe making machine.
It is recorded that he visited New England (United States/US) to learn to make shoes by registering as a shoe factory worker. Only when he had enough knowledge did he return to Czechia to put it all into practice.
Luckily, when he returned home, Europe was experiencing a war known as World War I (1914-1918). Thanks to this incident, Bata received large-scale orders for army shoes.
According to The Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in World History (2014), it is known that Bata was able to produce 50 thousand shoes during the war period. From these profits, Bata was able to expand to various countries.
Bata started from Switzerland, then went to England, France, the Netherlands, Canada, to a country in the East called the Dutch East Indies. Bata’s traces in the Dutch East Indies were detected in 1931 through the establishment of a Bata shoe import warehouse in Tanjung Priok.
As explained by Entrepreneur Extraordinary: Biography of Tomas Bata (1968), the Bata company license is held by NV Nederlandsch Indische Schoenhandel Maatschappij Bata. Unfortunately, Tomas could not see Bata’s success in the Dutch East Indies for a long time because he was forced to die in a plane crash in 1932.
Nevertheless, Bata’s business continues to be run by his son. And in the Dutch East Indies, Bata apparently succeeded in becoming the ‘king of shoes’ after establishing the Bata shoe factory in Kalibata, in 1939.
Since then, Bata has continued to exist, whatever the challenges. In fact, even in difficult times Bata does not close.
Not only did ordinary people own it, Sukarno was also recorded as wearing Bata shoes. According to the testimony of his aide, Maulwi Saelan in his memoir entitled From the Revolution of ’45 to the Coup of ’66: the testimony of Deputy Commander Tjakrabirawa (2001), it is known that the proclaimer had 3 boxes of Bata shoes containing 3 pairs of shoes for sports.
Bata’s existence continues to this day. Bata products worldwide are under the international network of Bata Shoe Organization.
In Indonesia, the Bata license is held by PT Shoes Bata Tbk (BATA). The brand also holds licenses for other brands, such as North Star, Power, Bubblegummers, Marie-Claire, and Weinbrenner.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
(luc/luc)