Famous Canadian Immigrant Thomas Bata
Thomas Bata; "Shoemaker to the world", was born September 17, 1914 in the Moravian village of Zlín, in what is now the Czech Republic. He was the son of Czech industrialist Tomáš Baťa.
Born into a shoemaking family, Thomas Bata was groomed to succeed his father as head of the Bata Shoe Company. When his father died he was only 17 years old. He immediately pursued studies at a commercial academy to acquire managerial experience.
One year later he became manager of the Bata shoe store in Zurich. It was a challenge but nothing compared to the challenges facing him after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1938. Tomas Bata decided to leave the country.
Thomas Bata went to Canada because he believed that it incorporated "a blend of British traditions with the progressiveness and dynamism of the United States." Getting permission was not without problems but eventually Bata and 82 of his key Czech workers settled just outside of Frankford, Ontario.
Here, they laid the groundwork for a business that would employ over 700 workers by the fall of 1940. It became an international success story in the post-war years.
Thomas ran the company for several decades, turning it into one of the world's leading footwear companies. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian award and is the Honourary Colonel of the The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment of the Canadian Forces Reserve.
At the age of 75, he returned to Zlin and received an exuberant welcome home. He resides in Toronto with his wife Sonja, founder of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. He continued to take an active role in the Bata Shoe Business, currently run by his son Thomas G. Bata.
Thomas Bata passed away in 2008.
The Bata Company Today
- Operations across 5 continents
- Serves 1 million customers per day
- Employs more than 40,000 people
- Operates 4,600 retail stores
- Retail presence in over 50 countries
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40 production facilities across 26 countries
