The Bata store was one of the most respected retailers of leather shoes and boots from the 1930s through the 1990s. Every year, we looked forward to the beginning of a new school year because, I dare say, some of us would be receiving new shoes from Bata. These shoes were sturdy, cozy, and long-lasting.
Although Bata was founded 125 years ago in the Czech Republic, it began operating as a commercial company with one shop in Nigeria in roughly 1932. British Bata Shoe Company Limited was its previous name. By 1985, Bata Nigeria Limited owned 20% of the country’s shoe market, ran 114 retail locations, and employed 1,650 workers.
Despite the abundance of leather in Northern Nigeria, Bata was always dependent on imports of raw materials since, as of 1985, Nigeria lacked a petrochemical sector. As a result, the price of shoes increased as the economy collapsed.
