Bata Shoe Company has widened its footprint in Kisumu by opening two more stores in what stakeholders term as a move to tap into the growing western Kenya economy.
The expansion brings to seven the number of retail stores the shoe chain has in the lakeside city so far.
According to the Managing Director Alberto Errico, the purchasing power of the region has grown, with higher number of people having deposable income.
“The middle-income group is expanding meaning those willing to pay a little extra for quality products have grown. There is also rising demand for one-stop shopping experience and we capitalize on that”, said company Managing Director, Alberto Errico through a statement delivered by the western area regional manager.
The growth is reflected by the growth of mall shopping culture. This culture experts argue is informed by one-stop shopping characterized with the middle-class populace.
The two stores are located in newcomer Westend and Tuffoam malls within the central business district. The Tuffoam-anchored store will be the largest of the seven shops upon completion of stocking, according to the company. The store currently houses a promotional outlet with shoes which have had long shelf lives going for up to 50 per cent of original prices.
The company is adopting a number of strategies in distributing the shops to achieve maximum returns. These include human traffic, anchoring facilities in the targeted malls and proximity of one store to another.
Mr Errico said, “We consider the anchor tenants such as supermarkets; they attract traffic for us, so recognized brands are a key consideration.”
The marketing strategy he says is pegged on the brand, which is the selling point.
“Brand recognition is already in the market. People know Bata. What we do is promote the products through offers and deliver on quality
Traditionally, the company has located stores in areas with high human traffic, usually close to public transport terminals. It has however grown in tandem with shopping trends over the past five years.
There are some 112 Bata stores in the country, with others in the pipeline.
School shoes he said, attract the highest revenue with peak seasons registered in January when schools open, when primary school candidates join form one and mini back to school seasons that follow end of school terms.
Bata, he said, has been recording an upward growth over the years.