With net revenues of Rs. 7.26 bn and net profit of Rs. 300.46 mn for the financial

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With net revenues of Rs. 7.26 bn and net profit of Rs. 300.46 mn for the financial year ending December 31, 2010, Bata was India's largest manufacturer and marketer of footwear products. As on February, 2016, the company had a market valuation of Rs. 3.69 bn. For years, Bata's reasonably priced, sturdy footwear had made it one of India's best- k n o w n brands. Bata sold over 60 million pairs per annum in India and also exported its products in overseas markets including the US, the UK, Europe and Middle East countries. The company was an important operation for its Toronto, Canada based parent, the BSO group run by Thomas Bata, which owned 51% equity stake.

The company provided employment to over 15,000 people in its manufacturing and sales operations throughout India. Headquartered in Calcutta, the company manufactured over 33 million pairs per year in its five plants located in Batanagar (West Bengal), Faridabad (Haryana), Bangalore (Karnataka), Patna (Bihar) and Hosur (Tamil Nadu). The company had a distribution network of over 1,500 retail stores and27 wholesale depots. It outsourced over 23 million pairs of footwear per year from various small-scale manufacturers.

Throughout its history, Bata was plagued by labor problems with frequent strikes and lockouts at its manufacturing facilities. The company incurred huge employee expenses (22% of net sales in 2012). Competitors like Liberty Shoes were far more cost-effective with salaries of its 5,000 strong workforce comprising just 5% of its turnover. By the end of 2012, Bata still faced problems of a high-cost structure and surplus labour. Infact, the turnaround had made the unions more aggressive and demanding. Weston had failed to strike a deal with the All India Bata Shop Managers Union (AIBSMU) since the third quarter of 2013. The shop managers were insisting that Bata honor the 2012 agreement, which stipulated that the management would fill up 248 vacancies in its retail outlets. It also opposed the move to sack all the cashiers in outlets with annual sales of less than Rs 5 mn, which meant elimination of 690 jobs.

Required

Develop two hypothesis for the research to be carried from the data above.