Mr Bata, who was born in Prague on September 17, 1914. He took control of the family footwear production business after his father’s death in an air accident in 1932.

Based in Zlin, Moravia, in the Czech Republic, the company was then making about 36 million pairs of leather shoes a year and, anticipating by several decades the path the global footwear industry was to take, was exporting to all parts of the world—including Asia and the Americas—while also operating retail shops in several European countries.

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