The Business Philosophy Of Thomas Bhatta, The Shoemaking King

< p > Thomas Bhatta (Thomas Bata) died in 2008 at the age of 93.

He not only re established his father's shoemaking enterprise founded in Austria Hungary in 1894, but also developed it into the world's leading footwear retailer and manufacturer, with production bases in more than 30 countries and over thirty thousand employees.

However, what inspires managers is not only his achievements, but also his way of doing things.

< /p >

At the beginning of the P, Tom (Thomas's nickname) decided to "go global", though the world seemed to insist on going backward.

After the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939, he moved to Canada and opened a semicolon for the family business Bata.

In 1945, Tom, who was in Canada, learned that the company had been nationalized and confiscated. At that time, his family had developed Bata into a strong international enterprise.

At that time, under the influence of the Soviet Union led by Stalin, Czechoslovakia was unable to return to China, so he started a new Bata with a small town near Toronto as a new base in Czechoslovakia.

Today the town is still named after him.

< /p >

Under the leadership of P, Bata continued his father's tradition of expanding global market and entered Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Tom expanded his business to every corner of the globe, where no one wanted to go, and sometimes it was difficult, and the environment was often not favorable.

But he was the first to go and stick to it for a long time, and finally built up a strong brand to win generations of customers and staff loyalty.

It is estimated that in Tom's life, his company sold more than 20 billion pairs of shoes.

< /p >

The reason why Tom can do all this is largely because he is serving customers in the middle and lower levels of the society in Pyramid, and this idea was popular only after long time.

< /p >

< p > for Tom, it is one of the core principles of the company to manufacture and sell products of high quality and low price for the poor.

He not only sells products to customers, but also creates new customers.

< /p >

< p > Tom likes to tell the story when he is going to expand in Africa.

He sent a senior manager to investigate. About a week later, the manager reported to Tom, "why do we come to Africa? No one wears shoes here."

Tom replied, "this is the reason why we are going there."

This pioneering idea to expand the customer base is closely related to Bata's focus on emerging market expansion.

Tom is obviously ahead of all two aspects.

< /p >

< p > but Tom not only focuses on customers.

He once said: "the real role of an enterprise is to provide a service that can meet the needs and needs of the society by making and selling products, and become an organization that is cooperative with the community and the government, caring for the society."

I do not know which business school textbook describes the business mission better than this sentence.

< /p >

< p > to plate these ideas into action, let Tom and his company win lasting respect and loyalty from employees, suppliers, customers and other stakeholders.

< /p >

< p > in order to commemorate this business concept, Tom's family launched the "Thomas J Bata series lectures: about responsible J. Thomas Lecture Series on Responsible Capitalism".

This is the best way to cherish the memory of a person who believes that business is a public trust and that enterprises should contribute to the well-being of their communities.

Series lectures are held in Schulich School of Business at York University at York University in Toronto and Thomas Bhatta University (Tomas Bata University) in Zlin town.

Zlin is a small town in Czech Republic, where the Bata business empire originated.

The first lecture was delivered by Ratan Tata, a business pioneer in India and an old friend of Bata family.

< /p >

< p > Tom is my friend, mentor and trustworthy consultant. He has served as chairman of the International Advisory Committee of Schloss College of Commerce.

The last time we met was at a business lunch.

He was 92 years old, but his handshake was still strong (this is the tenth generation shoemaker's grip), and his optimism was infectious.

A few months after his death, the economic crisis brought great changes to the business field. But a few years ago, Tom warned in an interview with a magazine that capitalism had become too greedy and overconfident.

Facts have proved that his prophecy is very accurate, but more importantly, after the economic crisis, Tom Bata's philosophy of business philosophy, which was first promoted and put into practice, is again popular and has practical significance.

< /p >