Sandeep Kataria steps down as Bata global CEO

Sandeep Kataria, the first Indian to head Swiss footwear giant Bata Corp., has resigned after a five‑year tenure leading the global organization, The Economic Times reported.

Kataria, who steered the company during a period of globalization and operational transformation, is expected to remain onboard through the next six months to ensure a smooth transition.

An alumnus of IIT-Delhi and XLRI Jamshedpur, Kataria joined Bata in 2017 and headed Bata India for three years before taking on the role of global CEO in 2020.

He brought with him over two decades of leadership experience from marquee firms such as Unilever, Yum Brands, and Vodafone, which shaped his vision for Bata as a dynamic, digitized, and consumer‑centric brand.

During his tenure, he played a role in modernizing the company’s 130-year-old brand, advancing digital transformation, and leading strategic shifts to ensure continued relevance in a changing retail and footwear landscape.

Under his strategy, global operations—especially in Asia, Africa, and Europe—were streamlined, sharpening Bata’s seasonal, product, and market agility, while India emerged as a key design and sourcing hub

Kataria’s resignation coincides with a challenging backdrop for Bata’s publicly listed Indian subsidiary.

For the quarter ending 31 March, net profit declined by nearly 28% to ₹45.9 crore, while revenue declined marginally year-on-year and dropped sharply from the previous quarter

Despite the headwinds, Gunjan Shah, managing director and chief executive of Bata India, highlighted positive operational levers like volume growth, inventory management improvements, and expansion in semi‑urban areas.

The firm added 19 new franchise stores during the quarter, aligning with its “town‑focus” strategy

Founded in 1894 in Zlín, in present-day Czech Republic, Bata is a family-owned global footwear business.

In 2004, it consolidated operations and shifted its headquarters to Lausanne, Switzerland. Today, the footwear firm sells about 150 million pairs of shoes annually under nearly 20 brands, including Bata, Power, North Star and Weinbrenner.