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Thomas Bata's rise to the top

Broadcast Date: Nov. 28, 1980

Thomas Bata was heir to the vast Bata shoe empire, he was born on September 17, 1914 in Prague. When his father died in a plane crash, Bata was displaced and the corporate reins fell to another relative. Thomas, then 17, worked his way back up the company ladder from the bottom. This CBC documentary examines Bata's long journey to the top. He discusses his immigration to Canada, and the secrets of his success.

Thomas Bata's rise to the top

• Bata Shoe Organization was founded in 1894 in Czechoslovakia by siblings Tomas, Antonin and Anna Bata. Hailed as a progressive workplace, Bata revolutionized the shoe industry with modern machinery and practices. Antonin was drafted into the army and Anna married and left the company; the company was then presided over by Tomas Bata.

• As the shoe company thrived, Bata improved his workplace and built housing, schools and a hospital near his factory in Zlin, Czechoslovakia.

• Thomas Bata sought to enlarge his father's successful shoe company in the 1930s. Canada had long been a fabled destination in the Bata family and Tomas Bata Sr. had a deep interest for stories about the Canadian north. It seemed natural for Thomas Bata Jr. to select Canada as his new base of operation following the German annexation of Czechoslovakia, in 1938. He immigrated to Canada in 1939.
• Thomas Bata met and married his wife Sonja in Europe after the Second World War.

• Sonja Bata's interest in architecture was the driving force behind the construction of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. It is the largest shoe museum in the world and houses 10,000 shoes.

• The Batas have over 4,700 retail stores and 46 production facilities around the world.

• The Bata family continues to play a major role in running the company. Thomas G. Bata, grandson of Tomas Bata, is the company chairman. He took over the company in 2001.

• Thomas Bata was named a companion to the Order of Canada in 1971, in recognition of his contribution to industrial development.

• Thomas J. Bata died on Sept. 1, 2008 in Toronto at age 93.

Thomas Bata's rise to the top

Medium: Television

Program: The Canadian Establishment

Broadcast Date: Nov. 28, 1980

Guest(s): Thomas Bata

Host: Patrick Watson

Duration: 4:39

Clip edited for copyright reasons.

Photo: Petr David Josek/Associated Press

Last updated:
Sept. 9, 2008