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Aseem
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Joined: 15 Dec 2006
Posts: 1464
Location: YYZ
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 Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 8:28 am Post subject: Funeral held for 'shoemaker to the world' |
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Funeral held for 'shoemaker to the world'
September 05, 2008
Emma Reilly The canadian press
Friends, family members, and colleagues of the Canadian business legend Thomas Bata gathered in Toronto today to mourn the loss of the man who built his namesake company into the world's largest shoe manufacturer.
Bata, the self-described "shoemaker to the world," died Monday in Sunnybrook hospital just weeks shy of his 94th birthday.
About 600 people attended Bata's Roman Catholic funeral mass at Franciscan Church of St. Bonaventure in downtown Toronto, including Liberal MP Bob Rae, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and former defence minister Art Eggleton.
"He was a remarkable man – vigorous and active right until the end," said Rae, whose parents have been friends with the Batas since they immigrated from what was then called Czechoslovkia.
"His whole philosophy of business was that it was all about building things and it was all about giving back. He just gave back a tremendous amount – not just in Canada, but all around the world."
Bata's casket was draped with the flag of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, Bata's regiment from the Second World War. It was carried into the church by soldiers and accompanied by a regimental piper.
The ceremony, which featured music by Czech composers Bedrich Smetana and Antonin Dvorak, included tributes from his son Thomas and granddaughter Alexandra.
Flaherty called Bata "a great Canadian."
"I have tremendous respect for him as an entrepreneur," Flaherty said. "Certainly, as the finance minister of Canada, he was one of my heroes."
Bata was born in Czechoslovakia in 1914 to a family of cobblers. His father, Tomas, founded the Bata Shoe Organization in 1894.
In 1932, Tomas Bata died in a plane crash, leaving his son, then 18, to run the business.
As Europe approached war, Bata decided to bring the company to Canada. In 1939, he set up a manufacturing plant in a town now called Batawa, a combination of "Bata" and "Ottawa," in eastern Ontario.
After the war – which saw the destruction or nationalization of Bata's European operations – Bata rebuilt the company from its Canadian headquarters.
Over the next 60 years, the Bata Shoe Organization became the world's biggest shoe manufacturer, selling over 300 million pairs of shoes every year.
Bata's legacy was particularly prevalent in developing countries, especially in Africa.
"For the past 40 years, I have worn Bata shoes. My feet became synonymous with Bata," said Judith Mbula Bahemuka, high commissioner of Kenya. "Forty million east Africans are wearing Bata shoes today, so those 40 million people are today thinking about Thomas John Bata as they walk."
Though Bata's son Thomas George Bata took over the shoe company from him in 2001, the elder Bata remained active in its operations.
"He continually stimulated those around him to be passionate about their work and aim higher and higher," said his son. "I will miss our chats, and I know so many will feel the same way."
An obituary published in the New York Times described how Bata continued to carry business cards listing his title as "chief shoe salesman" until his death.
"He was young in spirit until the very end," said family friend James Fleck. "In fact, he just bought an iPhone last week and was exhilarated."
Bata is survived by his wife, Sonja, his son Thomas and his three daughters, Christine, Monica, Rosemarie. |
Toronto Star
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HamiltonAir
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Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 623
Location: Bangalore
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| Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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Rest In Peace Sir!
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texdravid
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Joined: 02 Jul 2007
Posts: 568
Location: GREAT STATE OF TEXAS
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:05 am Post subject: |
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Wow, I thought Bata was an quasi-governmental Indian company or a defanged "License Raj" company from the 1960's/70's.
I guess people outside the subcontinent can make piece of shit shoes!
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aarbee
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Joined: 19 Dec 2006
Posts: 322
Location: WAS/AMD
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:58 am Post subject: |
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| texdravid wrote: |
Wow, I thought Bata was an quasi-governmental Indian company or a defanged "License Raj" company from the 1960's/70's.
I guess people outside the subcontinent can make piece of shit shoes! |
Nope!
Was surprised myself too when sometime back a friend of mine took pics from Switzerland with Bata shops. |
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Aseem
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Joined: 15 Dec 2006
Posts: 1464
Location: YYZ
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| Posted: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:15 am Post subject: |
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India took to Bata's shoes
September 03, 2008
Daphne Gordon
Living Reporter
According to his business contemporaries, one of the late shoe magnate Thomas Bata's greatest contributions was bringing affordable footwear to the developing world.
The man who famously turned his father's shoe business into a global success story died on Monday at age 93.
"Mr. Bata himself, when he came (to Canada), he told a very famous story," says Morton Brownstein, a friend of Bata's and chairman of Browns Shoes.
"He sent a salesmen with lots of shoes to India. The salesman was there for two or three weeks and came back and said, `Can't sell there. Nobody wears shoes.'
"Mr. Bata heard about this and sent another salesman, speaking to him before he left. He said, `Everyone is a potential customer. They have no shoes.'"
The Bata brand has been a household name in India since 1931. The company employs more than 8,000 people there, with about 1,250 stores across the country.
Bata brought international expertise to the Indian shoe manufacturing business, and was the first shoe company to earn ISO status for its manufacturing facility there. |
Toronto Star
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