MAM
Bata India partners with Zepto for ten-minute footwear delivery
MUMBAI: Imagine rushing to a wedding and realising your shoes don’t match your outfit. With time running out, a quick solution is all you need.
With Bata India’s collaboration with Zepto, such worries could soon be a thing of the past. Bata India has teamed up with the quick commerce platform to deliver fashion and festive footwear to customers within minutes, marking a significant shift in how footwear is purchased in India.
The partnership, launched in Delhi-NCR, leverages the growing quick commerce market, which has been expanding at a compound annual growth rate of over 4.5 per cent. It aims to cater to the rising demand for on-the-go shopping experiences, with plans to expand to major metropolitan cities across India. With an estimated 48 lakh weddings expected in the coming months, this initiative promises convenience for customers needing footwear at short notice.
Bata India CEO Gunjan Shah expressed the importance of this collaboration saying, “At Bata, we’re constantly transforming & innovating to meet the needs of our customers, and our partnership with Zepto marks a significant step in that journey. We wanted to strengthen our omni-channel presence to ensure that customers can shop for our stylish and high-quality footwear in the way that best suits them—whether online, in-store, or now, with rapid doorstep delivery. Today’s consumers seek the convenience of having everything delivered to them, and this collaboration perfectly aligns with our mission to enhance accessibility.”
Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha echoed similar sentiments saying,“We are excited to partner with India’s leading footwear brand, Bata, and bring their stylish & comfortable range of footwear to our customers at lightning speed. This collaboration is all about convenience, speed, and making a wide variety of styles available to our consumers. We are united in our goal to enhance the shopping experience, redefining how quickly people can access stylish and quality shoes, making it easier for them to express their personal style on the go.”
The partnership underscores Bata’s commitment to adapting to the evolving retail landscape, ensuring its customers have seamless access to a wide range of stylish and comfortable footwear options at their convenience.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
