| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where did the brand begin? | Zlín, in what is now the Czech Republic |
| Where is the parent based today? | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Is Bata India an Indian company? | Yes in law: it is incorporated, listed and run in India |
| Who controls it? | The Bata group, through a 50.16% shareholding |
Bata: the history in brief
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1894 | Tomáš Baťa, his brother Antonín and his sister Anna found the Baťa Shoe Company in Zlín, then part of Austria-Hungary. |
| 1931 | Bata Shoe Company Private Limited is incorporated in India. |
| 1932 | Tomáš Baťa dies in a plane crash. Control passes to his half-brother Jan Antonín Baťa and his son Thomas John Baťa. |
| Late 1930s | Batanagar, a factory town near Kolkata, grows up around the company's Indian plant. |
| 1973 | The Indian company becomes Bata India Limited. |
| 1993 | The Batanagar factory becomes the first Indian shoe manufacturing unit to receive ISO 9001 certification. |
| 2026 | Bata India reports close to 2,000 stores, three plants and 7,583 employees for the year to March 2026. |
Why so many people think Bata is Indian
Bata has been in India for nearly a century. The Indian company was incorporated in 1931, built a factory town that carries its name, Batanagar, and has shops in most Indian towns of any size. Several generations have grown up with the brand, so it feels local.
The legal structure adds to that impression. Bata India Limited is a company registered in Kolkata, with its corporate office in Gurugram. Its shares trade on the BSE and the NSE, and Indian investors hold just under half of it. It files its accounts in India and reports to Indian regulators.
Who owns Bata India
Bata India's latest filing names Bata (BN) B.V. as its holding company, with 50.16% of the shares. That company belongs to the Bata group, whose parent, Bata Corporation, is owned by the Bata family and headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
So the answer depends on which question you are asking. The brand is Czech by birth. The group is run from Switzerland. The company that makes and sells Bata shoes in India is Indian by registration and listing, and controlled by the foreign parent through a majority stake.
How large Bata India is
For the year from April 2025 to March 2026, Bata India reported turnover of about ₹3,515 crore. It had three plants, close to 2,000 company-run and franchised stores, and 7,583 employees, of whom 2,455 were permanent.
On the stock market it is a small-cap company. Its average market capitalisation for the first half of 2026 was ₹9,750 crore, which placed it 570th among all listed companies in India. In the previous six months it averaged ₹14,410 crore.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bata an Indian company?
Not by origin. Bata was founded in 1894 in Zlín, now in the Czech Republic. Bata India Limited is an Indian-registered, Indian-listed company that the Bata group controls with a 50.16% stake.
Which country owns Bata?
No country owns it. Bata Corporation is a private, family-owned business headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It began in what is now the Czech Republic.
When did Bata come to India?
Bata Shoe Company Private Limited was incorporated in India in 1931. It became Bata India Limited in 1973.
Where is Bata India's head office?
Its registered office is in Kolkata and its corporate office is in Gurugram, Haryana.
Is Bata India listed on the stock market?
Yes. Its shares are listed on the BSE, the NSE and the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
Sources
- Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report 2025-26, Bata India Limited, Bata India, filed with the National Stock Exchange. nsearchives.nseindia.com. Accessed 11 October 2026. Incorporation year, offices, holding company and stake, stores, plants, employees, turnover and listings.
- Bata Corporation, Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed 11 October 2026. Founding in Zlín, the founders, the parent's headquarters and the Batanagar history. Secondary source.
- Average market capitalisation of listed companies during the six months ended 30 June 2026, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). portal.amfiindia.com. Accessed 11 October 2026. Source of every market capitalisation figure and rank in this article.
- Average market capitalisation of listed companies during the six months ended 31 December 2025, Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). amfiindia.com. Accessed 11 October 2026. Used for the comparison with the previous six months.
