Tomas Bata was born in Zlin to a shoemaking family as a member of the seventh generation of families of local craftsmen - shoemakers. Tomas’s direct ancestor Lukas Bata is mentioned in 1667 as a shoemaker in Zlin.
Birthplace of Tomáš Bat'a (SOkA, o. č. 1., p. č. 1)
As a fifteen-year-old, Tomas started to produce fleece shoes on his own in a workshop in Vienna-Döbling, however, this attempt soon failed.
Parents of Tomáš Bat'a (SOkA, o. č. 355 a 318., p. č. 1)
With the declaration of his father, Tomas and his older brother Antonin obtained the status of legal adulthood, so that Tomas could start working as a business traveller and secure contracts for his father’s workshop in Prague and elsewhere.
Antonin Bata obtained a trade license authorizing the production of footwear in Zlin. The family business was founded by his older sister Anna and younger brother Tomas, all of whom together made a capital of about 800 guldens. From its first address on Dlouha Street, the workshop soon moved to a house in the Zlin Square.
The Baťa siblings (NTB archive)
After a year of operation, the business of the Bata siblings had a debt of more than 8,000 guldens and was facing bankruptcy, and at the same time Antonin went to war – so in October of that year Tomas himself remained in charge of the company – it took him about a year to avoid bankruptcy, the company had 50 employees.
The company launched light textile shoes called “BATOVKY”, their success with customers guaranteed the prosperity and growth of the company.
Baťa shoes - the first type of canvas shoes made by Baťa (NTB archive)
Anna Bata left the company after her marriage. She became Anna Schieblova and was paid out her share; Antonin and Tomas remained as business partners of the company.
On his way to Frankfurt, Germany, Tomas got acquainted with machinery for the production of footwear; he brought several simple machines to Zlin to improve the production.
Tomas’s and Antonin’s joint company was registered in the Commercial Register under the name T. & A. Bata, headed by Tomas. Their first building was built near the Zlin railway station and thus the construction of the Bata factory complex began. The company had about 120 employees.
Zlín Square at the beginning of the 20th century (SOkA, o. č. 14423., p. č. 16)
A new field of business - a locksmith’s workshop - became the basis of Bata’s engineering plant. The brothers Tomas and Antonin attended the founding meeting of the Zlin organization of the Social Democratic trade unions.
Antonín and Tomáš (fourth and fifth from the left) with engineers (NTB archive)
From January to May, Tomas stayed in the USA and gained experience in the local shoe-making factories – he became acquainted with the American style of business and way of life; after returning to Europe, he visited factories in England and Germany.
Using the American inspirations, Tomas had built a modern three-floor red brick factory building. The company was paralyzed by a several-month workers’ strike, and Bata banned the trade unions in the company.
The first factory building (NTB archive)
After the death of his brother Antonin, Tomas remained the sole owner of the T. & A. Bata company.
The company’s premises expanded with the purchase of the neighbouring defunct Lehr factory. The company started a new line of business – the printing house.
A kitchen with a canteen was set up for employees.
The first colony of houses for co-workers (NTB archive)
Tomas Bata married Marie Mencikova, the daughter of the custodian of the Imperial Court Library in Vienna. The villa of Tomas Bata was completed according to the project of the Prague architect Jan Kotera. Construction of residential houses for employees began.
Wedding photos of the Baťa couple (NTB archive)
Bata shoes were exported abroad (Germany).
Thomas Bata junior was born; the company had 400 employees and ranked among major footwear manufacturers in the country. After the outbreak of war, Bata company won extensive government contracts for military footwear and expanded production.
Birth of Tomáš Bat'a junior (NTB archive)
New fields of business – tanning, power engineering.
New field of business – retail trade. A Bata factory branch was established in Pardubice (it was in operation between 1917 and 1923). New fields of business – agriculture, domestic shoe stores.
Logo of Bat'a company in 1917 (NTB archive)
Bata employed 4,000 workers. A characterization comparing the company to American companies appeared in public (F. Obrtel - Amerika ve Zlíně (America in Zlin)). New fields of business - forestry, building materials, newspaper publishing. A factory kindergarten and a library began to serve the employees, and advanced training courses were also started for them.
Tomas Bata stayed in the USA and became more acquainted with automotive (Ford) and footwear (Endicot-Johnson) companies. During this stay he established his own factory in Lynn (it was in operation from 1919 to 1921). New fields of business – wood processing, foreign shoe stores, company savings bank.
New field of business – advertising. The company had 2,210 employees.
View of the later building of the Advertising Department
Free visits to the cinema for employees, the company orchestra was established.
View of the "Tržnice" (Market) building, where the first double-sided cinema was located on the second floor
With the establishment of sister companies, Bata expanded its business to the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Poland, Denmark, England and in the following years also to many other countries.
Tomas Bata was elected the mayor of the city of Zlin, which position he held from 1923 to 1932. A new field of business – shoe repair shops.
Tomáš Baťa founded the Baťa party, he became the mayor of Zlín
Self-governing workshops were introduced into the organizational structure of the company and participation in profit and loss was introduced to increase motivation – these methods significantly increased production and economic results (“I was looking for a way that would work automatically as sunrise and sunset” – T. Bata). A research department was set up to support inventions and technical development.
Development of Bata methods of organization and economic efficiency in business - technological rationalization was completed in 1927 by installing conveyor belts for the production of footwear.
In the search for new markets, Tomas Bata makes his first trip to India. A psychotechnical laboratory was opened to facilitate employee hiring. A new field of business – construction design. Vocational education began to be provided by the company’s apprenticeship school – Bata School of Work (Young Men, later also Young Women). Tomas Bata, as the mayor of the city, started the reform of public education in Zlin.
Tomas Bata’s last trip to the USA. New fields of business – chemical production, paper processing, road freight transport, book publishing, cinema. The company employed disabled people who worked in the cardboard workshop.
Tomáš and Marie on a trip to the USA in 1926 (SOkA, o. č. 2520., p. č. 1)
The concept of modern Zlin as a garden city was announced by the mayor Tomas Bata and the architect Frantisek Lydie Gahura.
New fields of business – food processing, filmmaking. The Bata Hospital in Zlin was opened.
Baťa Hospital (SOkA, o. č. 5348., p. č. 2)
Bata accounted for 55% of the Czechoslovak footwear exports; for the first time, Czechoslovakia ranked globally first in leather footwear exports. Tomas Bata announced the intention to build a railway connection Prague – Ceska Trebova – Kromeriz – Zlin – Puchov – Kosice. A new field – chemical research. Social care was now provided thanks to the newly established Bata Support Fund. Tomas Bata contributed to the development of scientific research with significant financial support for the Anthropos pavilion in Brno.
Tomáš Bat'a as mayor welcoming President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in Zlín in 1928 (SOkA, o. č. 14712., p. č. 2)
A new company airport was established in Otrokovice with the intention of introducing an international air connection there. The subsequent construction of Bata works in Otrokovice formed a wider industrial agglomeration Zlin-Otrokovice. Tomas Bata published a proposal for finance management of the Moravian-Silesian lands and offered to provide three thousand telephones to Moravian municipalities and schools. A new field of business – pedicure. Experimental schooling methods began to be applied in Zlin schools.
The company’s production facilities were transferred to a five-day working week (45 hours). Tomas Bata published the intention to improve water management on the Morava river and the vision of connecting the Elbe, Danube and Odra rivers. A new field of business – insurance. A company footwear museum was opened, a zoo was established near the Zlin castle. The Zlin experimental schools took over the publishing of the pedagogical magazine “Creative School”. Vocational secondary education – with the opening of evening courses at the Uherske Hradiste Business Academy in 1930, the formation of the Zlin Business Academy began (opened in 1937).
Establishment of pedicure (archive of František Kocourek)
The company T. & A. Bata was transformed into a joint stock company – Baťa, a.s., Zlín. Tomas Bata founded the company Leader A.G. in St. Moritz with a capital link to the international network of its companies. The Bata concern expanded to include leather manufacturing factories in Trebic, Bosany and Nove Zamky, and a new shoe factory was built in Ottmuth (Germany). Tomas Bata proposed to the Prime Minister a program that included the construction of factories and housing estates, he began to export the Bata Zlin architecture to many countries. New fields of business – textile production, gas engineering.
Tomas Bata built new shoe factories in Borovo (Yugoslavia), Chelmek (Poland), Möhlin (Switzerland), Hellocourt (France); factories in Tilbury (England) and Konagar (India) are being prepared. New fields of business – car tires, coal mines, maritime shipping.
Wreckage of Junkers F-13 (NTB archive)
Tomas Bata died in a plane crash in Otrokovice. His company had over 31,000 employees and had savings of CZK 152,000,000 in personal accounts. Bata did business in 36 lines of production, trade and services. The assets of Baťa, a.s., Zlín as at 31 December 1931 amounted to CZK 920 million and were 80% covered by equity (share capital 175 million, reserve funds 515 million, retained earnings 46 million). The annual production was 36,300,000 pairs of shoes. Bata provided 81% of footwear production and 75% of exports in the Czechoslovak Republic. The concern produced in Czechoslovakia (Zlín, Otrokovice, Trebic, Bosany, Nove Zamky, Krasice ) and also in new factories in Germany, Yugoslavia, Poland, Switzerland, France (others were built in England and India). Bata’s world trade network included 2,500 stores (1,800 in Czechoslovakia, 700 abroad). Bata sister companies operated on four continents in 24 countries. In July 1932, the management of the global company of Tomas Bata was take
n over by a three-member team consisting of Jan Antonin Bata, Dominik Cipera and Hugo Vavrecka. Dominik Cipera took over the position of the mayor of Zlin (1932-1945).
New footwear manufacturing plant Beirut (Syria/ Lebanon). A vocational secondary engineering school was opened, which later became the company’s secondary school institute - the multidisciplinary Industrial School (opened in 1937).
Jan Antonín Bat'a continues the legacy of Tomáš (SOkA, o. č. 2657., p. č. 1)
New factories in Best (Netherlands) and Batanagar (India) and a new manufacturing plant in Baghdad (Iraq) were established. A 40-hour working was introduced. New fields of business – aircraft production, rubber plantations.
New factories were established in Napajedla and Batizovce. New field of business – production of man-made fibres. The company’s Study Institute with educational and research programs was opened in Zlin.
View of the dormitories of the Baťa Labour Schools (SOkA, o. č. 14472., p. č. 34)
The company produced over 58,000,000 pairs of shoes. New field of business –wholesale export. The Ist Zlin Salon was organized that established the tradition of art exhibitions.
New factories were established in Batavia (Dutch India), Singapore, Vernon (France). The company’s Industrial School started its operation in Zlin.
Jan Antonín Baťa and Dominik Čipera, while working in Zlín
Bata had 65,000 employees (42,000 in Czechoslovakia, 23,000 abroad). A member of the company’s management, Hugo Vavrecka, held the office of a minister of the Czechoslovak Government (September-November 1938); Dominik Cipera, a member of the company’s management, became the Minister of Public Works of the Czechoslovak Government (December 1938). New factory in Liptovsky Mikulas. New field of business – river transport (Bata canal). The higher vocational education institute – Tomasov – as a school for the company managers (1938-1940) was opened in Zlin (in operation from 1938 to 1940).
Tomáš family (NTB archive)
The Bata company carried out business in 42 fields of production, trade, services. It had factories and sister companies in 39 countries. Its worldwide sales network included 5,500 shoe stores. Under the German occupation, the company’s management team in Zlin was composed of: Dominik Cipera, Hugo Vavrecka and Josef Hlavnicka, however, the German occupation authorities imposed their influence over the company’s management. New factories in Simonovany-Batovany (Partizanske), Zruc nad Sazavou and Sezimovo Usti. Further factories in Europe, Africa and America. A new field of business – spa industry. The higher vocational education institute - School of Arts (today Secondary School of Applied Arts in Uherske Hradiste) was opened in Zlin.
Josef Hlavnička and Dominik Čipera, directors of the Baťa company
Thomas Bata junior went into exile in March 1939, settled in Canada where he built a factory in Batawa. Jan Antonin Bata went into exile in June 1939 and later, when he was forced to leave the USA in 1941, he settled in Brazil in the newly founded Batatuba. Jan A. Bata lost influence over the management of the company and since 1941 Thomas Bata junior has been gaining bigger influence over the company’ management.
The Zlin management, led by D. Cipera and H. Vavrecka, managed Bata companies in continental Europe with 85,000 employees. Other Bata companies operated in the British Empire, on the American continent, in Africa and Asia.
During the war against Germany and Japan, 235 Bata employees fought in the Allied forces. Mary Bata stayed in Zlin and together with her the company’s management contributed to activities against the German occupiers – among other things by supporting the fighters in the Slovak National Uprising and by supporting partisans in Eastern Moravia. Thomas Bata junior cooperated with the Czechoslovak resistance of the in-exile-government of Edvard Benes in London.
Marie Bat'a returned to the Protectorate to protect the interests of the company (SOkA, o. č. 3130., p. č. 2)
The Bata factories in Czechoslovakia were nationalized and similarly the Bata factories in other Central European countries and the Balkans were nationalized after the war. As regards the management of Bata companies in Western Europe and overseas, Thomas Bata junior founded a new company Bata Development Limited with its headquarters situated in London.
Bombardování továrního areálu (archiv NTB)
Almost three quarters of Bata factories were lost due to the nationalization in Central and South-Eastern Europe; 38 factories and 2,168 stores remained in Bata’s Western organization, 34,000,000 pairs of shoes were produced, the company had 34,000 employees.
Representatives of the Bata company were brought to justice in Prague. Dominik Cipera was released in a politically constructed trial. Jan Antonin Bata was unjustly convicted of refusing to openly join the Czechoslovak war resistance. Lawsuits have been initiated between Thomas Bata junior and Jan Antonin over the Swiss company Leader A. G. Decisions of US courts issued in the years 1950-1960 confirmed that Thomas Bata junior was the owner.
Jan Antonín Bat'a and Dominik Čipera, while still working in Zlín (SOkA, o. č. 341., p. č. 1)
Representatives of Bata factories – Dominik Cipera, Hugo Vavrecka and Frantisek Malota – were convicted in a politically constructed trial at a court in Uherske Hradiste.
Under the leadership of Thomas Bata junior, business expanded around the world – in new factories in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Algeria, Sudan, Tanzania, South Africa, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, etc.
Under the leadership of Tomáš Bat'a Jr. the company flourishes (Bat'a family archive)
The Bata company has manufacturing and sales operations in 79 countries around the world: 66 factories, 4,100 stores, annual production of 175 million pairs of shoes.
Thomas Bata junior moved the headquarters of the family business Bata Shoe Organization from London to Toronto, Canada.
The company’s business expanded in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Additional Bata factories were built in Chile, India and Pakistan, new factories began operating in Nigeria, Congo, Uganda, Upper Volta and Niger.
Baťa is the largest shoe company in the world (Baťa family archive)
Bata’s shoe organization had 98 companies with 90,000 employees in 89 countries, 250,000,000 pairs of shoes were produced in 90 factories, 290,000,000 pairs of shoes were sold in 5,000 stores.
The Bata Shoe Museum was established in Toronto.
Thomas Bata junior worked in the UN Expert Advisory Group of the Committee for Supranational Corporations.
The welcoming committee and many admirers were waiting for the arrival of the plane from Zurich at the Prague-Ruzyne Airport on 14 December. Thomas Bata junior arrived on the plane to Czechoslovakia. Before landing, the plane circled over Prague at the guest's request and then Thomas Bata junior stepped onto his native soil after fifty years. People remembered him right at the airport and Bata himself was touched by the warm welcome. He arrived in Zlín on 16 December, welcomed by members of the Civic Forum and the traveller Miroslav Zikmund. Thomas Bata junior wished to see his parents' grave, his family villa and the factory premises. Then he went to the crowded square where he spoke to the people. The Bata phenomenon was back.
Return of Tomáš Baťa Jr. to Czechoslovakia (Bata family archive)
Thomas Bata junior resumes business in Czechoslovakia. As as part of a major privatization, he bought a network of stores and set up a company based in Zlin (it includes a network of stores and a factory in Dolni Nemci).
The renovated Tomas Bata Villa is opened, and the newly established Thomas Bata Foundation starts its operation.
Opening of the Tomáš Bat'a Foundation (Bat'a family archive)
A university was established in Zlin named after Tomas Bata, the company’s founder.
Tomáš Bat'a junior with his wife Sonja and children in front of Tomáš Bat'a University in Zlín (Bat'a family archive)
Thomas George Bata, took over the management of the company from Thomas Bata junior; the headquarters of the organization became Lausanne in Switzerland.
Thomas Bata junior died.
The Bata company operates its activities all over the world, its activities on five continents are managed by three regional business units. It serves more than 1 million customers a day and employs more than 40,000 employees. The products are produced in 40 production facilities in 25 countries around the world - they produce around 150 million pairs of shoes annually.
