BATA India has done everything right—store redesigns, new brands, franchise expansion, tech investments. Yet revenue keeps declining and the stock has collapsed 60%.

This deep-dive reveals why flawless execution without strategic clarity creates drift. We examine four fatal flaws: the middle-market death zone, selling utility in an aspiration market, confusing operational improvements with strategy, and the speed mismatch that can't be fixed.

The hardest lesson: sometimes the path forward requires subtraction, not addition.