While Prada walks the ramp in Kolhapuris, here in India, Bata, the brand that once defined middle-class respectability, can barely find its footing. Bata which was once a household name, a back-to-school essential, a symbol of quality without fuss, is now finding itself squeezed. Too expensive for the value-hunting Zudio crowd and not fancy enough for the Birkenstock and Crocs-wearing folks.

Which is why Sandeep Kataria’s recent resignation as global CEO feels like a full circle moment. After all, it was under his leadership that Bata tried to pivot from utility to aspiration. But was it ever really able to shake off its image as the brand of the “everyman”? And more importantly, should it have even tried?

Here’s the deeper question: What do we, the Indian middle class, aspire to anymore? Is luxury about heritage and craftsmanship? Or just a European label and a five-digit price tag?

Tune in.

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