Tomas Bata´s business in the country can be traced to 1927, when a shoe store in Singapore was in operation. A sister company was founded in 1931 and after several years a shoe factory was established. Bata´s local business continued in the coming decades, and Bata is present in Singapore even today.
- In 1927 Bata´s shoes were sold in own shop in Singapore
- On the market of the inter-war Straits Settlements (Singapore and Malaysia) the export of Bata´s shoes gradually increased: 2,000 pairs of shoes (in 1928), 23,000 pairs (in 1931), 194,000 pairs (in 1935), 585,000 pairs (in 1937)
- In 1930, on the territory of the Straits Settlements, several Bata stores were operating (Singapore, Penang); in 1931 Bata employed 12 workers
- On 26 August 1931, a sister company Bata Shoe Comp. Ltd., Singapore was registered.
- In 1932, two other company stores in Singapore were opened
- In 1937-1938-1939 began the production of leather footwear in Bata factory in Singapore
- In 1938, the Bata Singapore also managed company departments in the nearby territories: the Department of Hong Kong, Department of Shanghai, Department of Manchuria, Department of Philippines
- In 1938 there were 25 stores in the Straits Settlements, and in 1939 this number increased to 164 outlets
- After the war, the local business continued – in January 1946 production was restored; a sister company was newly registered on 12th February 1947
- 1962 – Bata Shoe Company Limited (Singapore) was on the list of historically registered Bata companies for Singapore
- In year 1980 a sister company Bata Shoe (Singapore) Private Ltd. (manufacturing / retail / dealer / wholesale / export) operated in Singapore
- In 1992, the company Bata Singapore still operated in Singapore
Sources:
- Bata, The Bata Shoe Organisation, 1978
- Bohumil Lehár, Dějiny Baťova koncernu, Praha 1960
- Jaroslav Pospíšil – Hana Pospíšilová, Rub a líc baťovských sporů, Zlín 2012, ISBN 978-80-7473-037-5
- Thomas J. Bata, Remmembered, Zlín 2016, ISBN 978-80-7473-398-7
- Moravský zemský archiv v Brně – Státní okresní archiv Zlín, Česko
- Podnikový archiv Bata, Batanagar, India
