The very first new building constructed by the Bata concern in Zruč nad Sázavou was a shoe shop and a centre for other services on MUDr. J. Svoboda Square No. 199 in Old Zruč, which was opened on 6 May 1938. This happened less than a year before the decision was made to build a new modern factory town in the vicinity of Zruč. The local shoemaker Václav Klatovský had been offering Bata shoes since 1924.
In 1930 the first Bata shop was opened in a rented room of the house on MUDr J. Svobody Square No. 59, which belonged to the local bakers Klatovský. The company offered a wide range of products, from shoes, hosiery and haberdashery to colognes and frances. However, the rented premises were not enough for the dynamically expanding company, so a new shop was built in the opposite western corner of the square, whose cubic shape and flat roof did not fit in well with the surrounding buildings. Both the shop and the shoe store were moved there. Local residents could now use the services of a chiropodist. However, the local shoemakers did not welcome the arrival of the shoe giant. Between 1920 and 1937, three of the seven local shoemakers left the trade.
Although the new shop differs from the surrounding small-town buildings, it looks very traditional compared to the progressive modern architecture of the large Bata department stores. It is a plastered brick building whose facade is dominated by a central entrance with two shopfronts. On the first floor there are three smaller windows. The only decorative element is the cornice, which is uncharacteristically placed under the upper edge of the roof. The ground floor was used for commercial purposes, with a shop, service facilities and a warehouse. Upstairs was an apartment for the employee and his family. It is not without interest that the house still fulfils its function today. The owners run a drugstore in the business premises, and use the upstairs for private purposes. The house has been replaced with new windows and a new facade, but its form and function have been preserved.
