I want my Cortina

I am fortunate to have been born during that renaissance era when BATA now FAMAD defined the ultimate source of motivation for a school child. Those were the good old days. The promise of a new set of Cortina shoes meant double efforts on the part of children at their school work. There will be no BATA for you if you don’t behave; my mom would taunt me at every slightest opportunity. And of course, I aligned myself at every instance. The threat from my mom propelled me to shape up. The amazement created by this enigma remains a very powerful emotion even for me today. I still picture the sleek and classic design of the Cortina; it was a perfect finish. The wooling and seaming was executed brilliantly. My Cortina was the ultimate piece of foot gadget. My white tennis shoes made me grow wings as I rocked them. It was insanely cool. It was regal. It was simple yet oozed this subtle sophistication. BATA was the ultimate delight of school boys and girls. The vintage brown school shoe was the most popular in Oshogbo.

The story today is very much different. In those days; the good old days, a visit to my BATA shop had this aura that is simply relieving. There was this breath of fresh air that a BATA shop provided. For someone who grew up in a remote town like I did, the sight of the transparent glass BATA shop created this magical feeling of being in ilu-oyinbo. The design for the shop was well thought-out and executed. I literarily felt that. Today, having studied so much of what makes a brand truly magical, I now know why BATA was the bomb. The customer shopping experience left such an indelible impression on the customers’ mind. No wonder they kept coming back for more. Bill board adverts were few and far between back then but I never saw any advert by BATA. There was just this magic I can’t explain. My BATA didn't have to advertise. It was like a charm that kept people coming. Wow! I sense nostalgia already.

Sitting back now, I ask the solemn question; what happened to my BATA? Was it because the name changed? Was it that the company just faded? There is no doubt that brands like humans cease to exist but what really happened to my BATA? Did the company failed to re-invent itself? Did it fail to connect to the post baby-boomers? Did it loose its brand identity? Was it that it ran out of designs? What killed BATA? Did the products loose their sex appeal? How did it go complacent and lethargic? Did the company fail to delight and surprise? What makes even FAMAD so out of touch even today?

Even now that I am an adult and now live in Lagos,to my greatest shock there is no BATA/FAMAD of my dreams (I thought maybe the company decided to shut down its shop in Oshogbo maybe because of weak revenue). The only site left of my BATA/FAMAD is the Ojota manufacturing plant. The so called retail and wholesale shop looks like an ugly effigy. It is so uninviting. No sparkle. No magic. It’s like a dead man’s chest Johnny Depp spoke of in the Pirates of the Caribbean. I even searched for the company’s website to see if there was an online store and to my rude shock, my BATA does not have an online premise. How is a consumer-business like FAMAD expected to survive without a digital premise? My BATA shop in Oshogbo is no more. It is now occupied by a fast-food eatery. It is sad indeed.

I have read so much of debilitating news about FAMAD that continuously break my heart. It’s like being ravaged over and over. My heart bleeds. My soul weeps. It reminds me of Ichabod in the holy book (The glory has departed). I rememeber vivdly that even my Dad who was a school teacher with a meager salary relished a fine BATA shoe. My Mom also shared in this enigma. BATA had something for everyone.

I have a burning wish to see the re-birth of my BATA. I have even had to carry out some diagnostics of the probable challenges and way forward for FAMAD. It’s just a shame that an Icon like BATA even after its transition to FAMAD has lost its brand essence. I want my Cortina again and I'm not giving up. Not this time. Not ever.


Image Credit: Google