History
The T. & A. Baťa Shoe Company was founded on 24 August 1894 in the Moravian town
of Zlín, Austria-Hungary (today the Czech Republic) by Tomáš Baťa his brother Antonín
and his sister Anna, whose family had been cobblers for generations. The company employed
10 full-time employees with a fixed work schedule and a regular weekly wage, a rare find in
its time.
In the summer of 1895, Tomáš was facing financial difficulties. To overcome these setbacks,
he decided to sew shoes from canvas instead of leather. This type of shoe became very
popular and helped the company grow to 50 employees. Four years later, Bata installed its
first steam-driven machines, beginning a period of rapid modernisation. In 1904, Tomáš read
a newspaper article about some machines being made in America. Therefore, he took three
workers and journeyed to Lynn, a shoemaking city outside Boston, in order to study and
understand the American system of mass production. After six months he returned to Zlin
and he introduced mechanized production techniques that allowed the Bata Shoe Company to
become one of the first mass producers of shoes in Europe. Its first mass product, the
“Batovky,” was a leather and textile shoe for working people that was notable for its
simplicity, style, light weight and affordable price. Its success helped fuel the company’s
growth. After Antonin's death in 1908, Tomáš brought two of his younger brothers, Jan and
Bohuš, into the business. Initial export sales and the first ever sales agencies began in
Germany in 1909, followed by the Balkans and the Middle East. Bata shoes were considered
to be excellent quality, and were available in more styles than had ever been offered before.
By 1912, Bata was employing 600+ full-time workers, plus another several hundred who
worked out of their homes in neighbouring villages.
In the global economic slump that followed World War I, the newly created country
of Czechoslovakia was particularly hard hit. With its currency devalued by 75%, demand for products
dropped, production was cut back, and unemployment was at an all-time high. Tomáš Bata responded to
the crisis by cutting the price of Bata shoes in half. The company’s workers agreed to a temporary 40
percent reduction in wages; in turn, Bata provided food, clothing, and other necessities at half-price. He
also introduced one of the first profit-sharing initiatives, transforming all employees into associates with a
shared interest in the company's success
World war I
In 1914, with the outbreak of World War I, the company had a significant development due
to military orders. From 1914 to 1918 the number of Bata’s employees increased ten times.
The company opened its own stores in Zlín, Prague, Liberec, Vienna and Pilsen, among other
towns.
In the global economic slump that followed World War I, the newly created country
of Czechoslovakia was particularly hard hit. With its currency devalued by 75%, demand for
products dropped, production was cut back, and unemployment was at an all-time high.
Tomáš Bata responded to the crisis by cutting the price of Bata shoes in half. The company’s
workers agreed to a temporary 40 percent reduction in wages; in turn, Bata provided food,
clothing, and other necessities at half-price. He also introduced one of the first profit-
sharing initiatives, transforming all employees into associates with a shared interest in the
company's success.
World war II
Just before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Bata helped re-post
his Jewish employees to branches of his firm all over the world. Germany occupied the