Bata Kenya spruces up popular Safari Boot brand to boost sales

Three weeks ago, Bata released 300 fresh pairs of Hair On, a variant of the Safari Boot, into the market to test the waters.

The original version of the loose-fitting indigenous shoe with a rough finish that exudes the promise to endure a rough terrain was designed in 1966.

Today, the boot continues to command a formidable market, both in Kenya and abroad.

Originally designed for an emerging tourist market, it went on to dominate that segment and then to cross over in its appeal and to capture part of the local shoe market.

The Safari Boot, whose Swahili names literally suggests a shoe on an escapade, has had an adventurous life.

It has been to the top of Mount Kenya and across many a valley.

Kenyan tour guides on safari and Kenyan tourism officials on international marketing campaigns will almost always have a pair of Safari Boots close by.

Kenyan icon
Whether dominating the view on an overhang billboard or perched patiently on a shelf waiting for a suitor, Bata’s Safari Boot is an undisputed Kenyan icon. Wherever it travels, it easily conjures up the image of Kenya.

To leverage its success, Bata brands the Safari Boot as the shoe that says you have been to Africa.

“This is one of the brands that have kept Bata Kenya afloat through the years,” says Agnes Murila Bata’s Merchandising Manager.

“Anyone walking into any Bata Kenya outlet will easily notice the shoe.”

Other popular Bata brands in Kenya include Pata Pata or flip-flops whose sales amount to 14 million pairs a year, Ngoma, the dancing shoes of choice for the rural woman, with 2 million pairs sold each year and Toughees, Bata’s signature unisex shoes for the school market, 700,000 of which are sold each year.

Inside a busy factory in Limuru, the home of the Safari Boot, 20 men work briskly to keep up with demand.

Each part of the shoe is handled by a specialist, the entire process a labour intensive exercise that needs to be carried out at fast pace.

According to Bata Kenya, the factory is currently supplying the market —local and international— 18,000 pairs of Safari Boots every week.