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Lovemore Zigara, Midlands Correspondent
GWERU based shoe manufacturer, Bata Shoe Company, has surpassed its sales target for Pata Pata and Sandak products, a senior company official has said.

Bata reintroduced the two brands after it discontinued their production in 2008 at the height of the country’s economic challenges.

The move to reintroduce Sandak and Pata Pata comes at a time the shoe manufacturer resorted to producing low cost articles as it seeks to regain its market share, which had been lost over the years due to the influx of cheap footwear especially from the Far East.

Bata managing director Mr Ehsan Zaman told the Business Chronicle that the company has recorded 1, 5 million sales of both the Sandak and Pata Pata brands with projections that next year’s sales of the two brands would reach the two million mark.

“We only started production of the two brands in March after setting up plants for both brands. Figures recently availed to us show that we have recorded sales of about 1, 5 million and we are going to surpass the target. Next year I am sure we will sell two million pairs of shoes,” he said.

Mr Zaman said sales had been spurred by customers who are buying in bulk for resale in rural areas where the two products have found a ready market due to their “quality and affordability.”

Despite the impressive sales, the Bata boss said the two brands have not contributed much to the company’s turnover.

“These are not high value shoes, and are driven by volumes just to keep our presence in the market. They do not make much contribution to the company’s profit,” he said.

To counter low profits from footwear from the low market end, the company has introduced new articles at “competitive prices” for the high income end as the company takes a paradigm shift from being a school shoe making company.

“As Bata we have really changed our product line. We used to focus more on school shoes. The diversification of our products has seen us producing various types of articles, which we were importing in the past such as men’s casual and ladies’ shoes among others. This we have done at competitive prices, which has also helped in our sales,” added Mr Zaman. Bata is one of the few surviving industries in the Midlands capital and employs approximately 1 100 employees.