Tomáš Baťa opened first shops in the country in 1932. Two years later, an affiliated company was established, and soon after that, a factory that had a significant status within Bata business was founded. In the late 1980s, business activities were suspended there.
- In 1932 Tomáš Baťa opened the first shops in Senegal; at the end of the year, goods produced by the Bata company were sold in stores in Dakar, Thiès, Saint Louis, Kaolack.
- In 1934 an affiliated company Chaussures Bata S. A. de L´Afrique Occidentale, Dakar was established.
- In 1940 a shoemaking workshop with 13 employees was established in Rufisque near Dakar; in 1943 production in the tannery started; in 1948, the production of rubber shoes began.
- In 1949, 300 employees worked in Rufisque, by 1953 the number of employees increased to 450 (out of whom 50 were Europeans); in 1950, the construction of a residential area situated near the factory commenced.
- In 1958, the expansion of the factory in Rufisque was completed; in the 1950s leather, rubber and plastic shoes were produced there; the local tannery provided other factories run by the Bata company and situated in western Africa with supplies.
- 1962 – according to historical records, the Bata company entitled Bata S.A. Africaine (Senegal) was located on the territory of Senegal.
- Around 1980, 1,100 employees worked in the factory in Rufisque, and another 80 employees worked in the tannery; in 1987 the number of employees dropped to 650 persons; in 1988 the factory in Rufisque was closing operations.
- In 1989, entrepreneurial activities operated by the Bata organization were suspended in Senegal.
Sources:
- Bohumil Lehár, Dějiny Baťova koncernu, Prague 1960
- Alain Gatti, Chausser les hommes qui vont pieds nus, Metz 2004, ISBN 2-87692-619-9
- Jaroslav Pospíšil – Hana Pospíšilová, Rub a líc baťovských sporů, Zlín 2012, ISBN 978-80-7473-037-5
- Moravian Provincial Archives in Brno – State District Archive in Zlín, Czech Republic
