The Bata Company started operating in the Philippines in the 1930s by opening own stores and establishing a factory. However, during the Second World War the company´s activity in the location ceased.
- In 1938, Bata had two outlets in the country (both in Manila) operated from Singapore (Bata Shoe Co. Ltd Singapore, Department of the Philippines); in 1939, 22 shops were registered
- In the years 1940-1941, a shoe factory was established and operated under the name Gerbec-Hrdina Co. Limited. Ludvik Gerbec and Jaroslav Hrdina were employees of Bata´s, on behalf of which the Filipino company was named to ensure differentiation from the parent company Bata, Zlín, situated in the territory of the divided and occupied Czechoslovakia. Production in the factory in the Philippines seems to have ended during the war
- 1962 – In the inventory of Bata companies ever operating, Gerbec-Hrdina Co. Limited (Philippines) was registered in the territory of the Philippines
Sources:
- Jaroslav Pospíšil – Hana Pospíšilová, Rub a líc baťovských sporů, Zlín 2012, ISBN 978-80-7473-037-5
- Moravský zemský archiv v Brně – Státní okresní archiv Zlín, Česko
