The Destruction Of Manufacturer PT Sepatu Bata To Close Dozens Of Stores And Layoff Employees: Because It's Not Profitable

Bata Shoe Outlet. (Photo: Doc. Citraland Mall)

JAKARTA - Clothing manufacturer PT Sepatu Bata Tbk (BATA) stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had a separate impact on the company's business activities. This then has an impact on the efficiency measures taken.

Sepatu Bata Director, Hatta Tutuko, said at least the company had closed 50 stores spread across various locations.

"If it's not profitable, we'll close it", he said online during a presentation on the 2020 financial year performance on Wednesday, June 17.

Hatta added that the closing of several sales outlets then had consequences for termination of employment. However, he claimed that the company had not carried out massive layoffs for closing the store.

"We do not lay off massive layoffs, if (employees) the contract runs out, it is not extended. Even if the layoffs are not many", he said.

For information, until the end of May 2021, the multinational corporation from Czechoslovakia is said to have 460 outlets throughout Indonesia.

In terms of performance, throughout 2020, Bata recorded a net loss of IDR 177.76 billion. This achievement is inversely proportional to the 2019 acquisition which is said to have made a profit of IDR 23.44 billion.

The decline in the profitability of the business entity coded for BATA shares was inseparable from the decline in sales from the previous IDR 931.27 in 2019 to IDR 459.58 billion in 2020.

In terms of portion, the domestic market is still the main market with sales of IDR 456.67 billion and exports of IDR 2.9 billion last year.

It is suspected that the sluggishness of BATA's business activities cannot be separated from the pressure of the pandemic which affects the level of people's purchasing power.

"In the future, we will continue to use online channels to increase the company's product sales capacity", concluded Hatta.