Howick, KZN, SA – John Watt of Bresan Footwear, and before that of Bata SA, died on 05 January following a stroke on 02 January. According to his son, Alistair, He had been struggling with a number of health issues over the past 6 months and had been in and out of hospital a number of times in recent weeks.     An obi ...more

Bubblegummers to be ‘a priority product’Durban, KZN, SA – Broadening Bata South Africa’s brand base is a priority – perhaps the priority – for country manager Lorraine Dyer, who joined in August with a background managing apparel brands including Converse and Calvin Klein.That has been the goal under su ...more

 Durban, KZN, SA – Bata SA country manager Michael Wyatt has been promoted to president of Bata Africa-Middle East and Bata Industrials.The new Bata SA country manager is Lorraine Dyer, who has over 20 years retail and wholesale experience in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.In a release, Bata SA said “her track re ...more

Bata Shoe Company has ordered its former employees to return to work after failing to pay them their retrenchment packages.Over 106 employees were laid off in November last year without notice and the company had pledged to pay them their severance packages within weeks.However, after failing to meet its end of the bargain, the company ha ...more

Blantyre, Malawi – My father, Mussa Hajat, passed away in the early hours on Monday 22 January 2024, aged 90.He was still fully active and working up until Christmas.He was affectionately known as Mussa Footwear and was a true giant in the footwear scene in this country ever since he left Bata and established his own business in 196 ...more

S&V asked 16 footwear manufacturers to comment on any growth in their orders from chains – especially those that are part of the NCRF, which was a signatory to the Masterplan – since its launch 5 years ago. 2 manufacturers answered. ...more

Obituary: Roland ‘Roley’ Rogers – Bata SA, commission agent (11/09/1938-23/01/2024) Roley was born in Kuruman in the Northern Cape and was educated at CBC in Kimberly.He was an outstanding sportsman and represented OFS and Eastern Cape schools at rugby, cricket, and swimming.He joined Bata in Johannesburg and worked ...more

Durban, KZN, SA (31 August 2023) - After five decades at its Pinetown facility, Bata South Africa has relocated its head office to the corporate hub of La Lucia, north of Durban. According to a release, “this strategic move aligns with Bata South Africa's future growth strategy”.The distribution centre remains in Hammarsdale a ...more

Export via chain retailers, export via brands, export via fairs – all roads that lead to export growth are worth exploring. ...more

Durban, KZN, SA – Bata Group has made several appointments.Bata South Africa's finance director of 2 years, Saket Mohta, has been promoted to regional finance director - Africa and Middle East Region for Bata Group, and is succeeded by Denise Moodley as the first woman FD at Bata SA.Bata SA country manager, Michael Wyatt, said of Mo ...more

Bata SA expansion programme: Retail partnerships, global brands ...more

Michael Wyatt, Country Manager, Bata South AfricaPinetown, KZN, SA - Overall Back To School was extremely successful from a manufacturing, distribution, and retail perspective. We saw double-digit growth vs. plans, and a strong January top-up demand despite 2022’s inflationary pressure on raw material costs and gross margin. The maj ...more

Michael Wyatt, country manager, Bata SAPinetown, KZN, SA - We will only know the outcome of retail BTS sell out in February - January is too early to tell. But as a manufacturer and wholesaler we saw double digit growth vs. 2021 for full year sales, so another successful year for our brands.  Jannie Vermeulen, Ekspa Fabrikante/Adno's ...more

Q&A with Michael Wyatt, MD Bata SA ...more

Q&A with Michael Wyatt, MD Bata SAHow happy or otherwise is your business with the NRCS? Do you have numbers for all your styles? What are the problems, for safety footwear suppliers, with what the NRCS is doing? Bata has a good relationship with NRCS. However, South Africa would benefit from speeding up the turnaround time of ne ...more

Blantyre, Malawi - Mussa Hajat, founder of Footwear Centre, is pictured above receiving an Omega watch from Bata Rhodesia MD, Dr Fiksel, at Bata's head office in Gwelo, in 1957. He started work with Bata in 1950 as a salesman in Bata's Blantyre shop, and rose to become sales manager of all Bata's retail shops in Nyasaland. He finally left ...more

In reaction to the article on Zimbabwe in S&V Footwear & Leather Goods on Friday, retired former PMC director Dieter Zettler wrote: "Like many others I feel deeply about the country as it was part of my sales portfolio between 1965 and 1975 when Rolf [Oltmanns] took it over. At the height of it, Bata in Gwelo produced 40 000 ...more