Davies will be replacing Fernando Garcia, who will be taking up another position within Bata Shoe Organisation (BSO), the parent company.

The restructuring was being done to continue to meet the expectations of the Indian consumers by providing quality service and a range of new products of international standard. Davies and his new team will concentrate on introducing a wide range of international quality products at regular intervals and in all price segments.

In a bid to strengthen the marketing activities and to focus on customer needs, Jaswant Singh, who was till recently the managing director of Bata in Uganda, has been given the portfolio of director, marketing and commercial operations in India.

And to achieve greater synergy in the manufacturing facilities and increased specialisation in the manufacturing process, A H Ehsanuzamman has been posted from BSO to India as senior vice-president, manufacturing.

Francesco Farraris and Tino Dendena, both from Italy, with experience in shoeline building, comprise the two-man team of Italian designers expected to lead the product development team. The two designers have been core members of the product development team of Bata International.

Tony van Es, technical expert and quality management and logistics specialist, has been added to the team as senior VP, quality control.