In 1931, the Bata company started to build up a sales network in the country. An affiliated company was established, with its activities resulting in the acquisition of several local enterprises. Activities of the Bata organization in Belgium continued after World War Two.
- During the first six months of 1931, Tomáš Baťa opened the company’s first stores in Belgium –Antwerp, Ghent, Namur, Liège, Kortrijk, Seraing, in the second half of the year followed by: Antwerp, Charleroi, Verviers, Brussels, Mons; in 1931 the number of employees was 120.
- In the autumn of 1931, the affiliated company Chaussures Bata S. A. Belge, Brussels, was established.
- In 1937, the Bata company succeeded in purchasing the Chaulux retail network.
- In 1939, the Bata-owned sales network involved 47 stores.
- The Bata company succeeded in recruiting the following companies for the purposes of its entrepreneurial activities in Belgium: Manufactures de Chaussures Frans Fils (F. F.), S. A., Forest, Brussels (in 1938); Bonneterie La Bruyère, Tubize (in 1941); Socolux S. A., Brussels (in 1941).
- In 1947, the production of a range of rubber products was started in a factory in Tubize.
- 1962 – The list of Bata-owned companies situated on the territory of Belgium according to historical records includes the following:
- Chaussures Bata S.A. Belge (Belgium)
- Socolux S.A. (Belgium)
- Manufacture de Chaussures F.F., S.A. (Belgium)
- Kotva S.A. (Belgium)
- Bonneterie La Bruyère S.A. (Belgium)
- Les Grandes Tanneries Belge S.A. (Belgium)
- Le Ressemelage Ideal S.A. (Belgium)
- Socolimex S.A. (Belgium)
- Simpa S.A. (Belgium)
- Compagnie Industrielle La Cinca S.A. (Belgium)
- In 1978, the Belgian affiliated company, Chaussures Bata S. A. Engineering, carried out business activities within the Bata organization.
- In 1992, the following Bata enterprises were operating in Belgium:
- Belgium Retail, Brussels
- Mould Engineering Belgium, Brussels
Sources:
- Bohumil Lehár, Dějiny Baťova koncernu, Prague 1960
- Bata Socolux, Tubize 1942
- Annual Report for 1947, Bata Development Limited London
- Bata, The Bata Shoe Organisation, 1978
- Alain Gatti, Chausser les hommes qui vont pieds nus, Metz 2004, ISBN 2-87692-619-9
- Tomáš J. Baťa, Švec pro celý svět, Prague 1991
- Jaroslav Pospíšil – Hubert Valášek – Hana Pospíšilová, Herr Direktor a ti druzí, Zlín 2015, ISBN 978-80-7473-269-0
- Thomas J. Bata, Remembered, Zlín 2016, ISBN 978-80-7473-398-7
- Moravian Provincial Archives in Brno – State District Archive in Zlín, Czech Republic
