TOMS Shoes: Good for the Sole

Alpargatas are up there with mate and dulce de leche in the ‘representing Argentina’ stakes. The traditional shoes are worn by Argentines of all shapes, sizes and classes from the Patagonian cordillera to the porteño avenidas. Why then, I asked myself, was I first introduced to them in the fashion pages of a US magazine? TOMS’ Alejo Nitti had the answers.

The idea for TOMS hit North-American Blake Mycoskie during a trip to Argentina two years ago. He made two crucial, independent observations about the country: firstly, how many children wandered the streets barefoot and secondly, the brilliance of the traditional Argentine shoe, the alpargata.

The two came together and TOMS – ‘shoes for tomorrow’ – was born: for every pair bought, a pair would be given away. While Blake had the business idea, he needed a partner on the ground in Argentina, and looked no further than his polo teacher he had met on this trip. Alejo Nitti, an entrepreneur, who had the business experience and energy required, thought it was a great idea and jumped on board; though he, like most, didn’t predict the success ahead: “I didn’t imagine this. It’s huge.”

While Blake is the designer and the face of the company in the US, Alejo is the Latin American head, managing the production and supply of the shoes to the US, or as he prefers to put it: “I am Chief Shoegiver”.

When TOMS launched 18 months ago, neither were ready for the immediate attention they would receive. Within five hours of their first press exposure in the LA Times, 1,400 orders had been placed on the website. Alejo explained that from that moment onwards ‘everything changed…it was so fast and a lot of work. It became 100% TOMS time’. For a while it was a game of catch up in an effort to keep up with demand but now the company has come into its own and TOMS is branching out, with plans to enter new markets and develop new designs.

The business model

The success of TOMS can be attributed to its unique business model. They are the first company in the world to give back exactly what they sell. Alejo explains: “It is very clear, very transparent, very easy… At the end of the day it is the shoes, we are the last one.”

This ‘buy one, give one away’ model has now been adopted by other businesses, most notably with the G1G1 (Give One, Get One) laptop campaign: “It’s great because we’re inspiring a lot of people.” At the end of 2007, TOMS work was honoured at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Awards which celebrates the best in US design. The shoes beat thousands of nominations, including the iPhone, to win the People’s Design Award.

Shoe drops

In less than two years the company has rocketed, with shoes selling across the US, Canada, Europe and Japan and the company’s trademark ‘shoe drops’ expanding to Africa as well as across Argentina. These expeditions, that place the donated shoes on children’s feet, are another key element of the TOMS philosophy. In November 2006, 10,000 pairs were ‘dropped’ in the Argentine province of Misiones. In the same month last year 50,000 pairs were distributed in South Africa.

Alejo notes that the experience differs from place to place. In Misiones the children are very different to the poor children of the capital. He remembers a 13-year-old girl from a Guaraní tribe was given her first pair of shoes through a TOMS shoe drop: “When I asked her how she felt, she answered ‘uncomfortable’! She had never worn shoes before so they would be! However the children there are so happy to receive the shoes, whatever colour.”

By contrast the kids in Buenos Aires ‘have something’ – they may be poor but not by Misiones standards. Alejo recounts how an eight-year-old boy from a villa rejected the pair of red and white stripy TOMS he was given: “(They were) not for him. Maybe if he lived in Palermo, but no, not for him.”

Further shoe drops are planned in Ethiopia this year as well as the TOMS Tour Alejo is leading in Argentina. Twenty volunteers will help carry out two shoe drops each month in different Argentine regions. For Alejo the shoe drops are “what is different and great. People come to enjoy the place, the kids… interacting with them. It’s about connecting with people from the other side of the world, finding the ‘link’.”

Much of TOMS work is carried out by volunteers. It is possible to sign up online to take part in one of the drops or you can apply for your school or community to receive the shoes. Alejo says “tell us where you want them and we’ll do our best to make it happen”.

TOMS has clearly found the recipe for success with their alpargatas, but they won’t stop there. Alejo is ambitious: “Every time I think I’m done, I have a new idea. I can’t sleep.” New designs are constantly being produced and they are currently developing plans for a boot, for which every pair sold, a pair of orthopaedic boots will be given away to people in Ethiopia who suffer from a disease called elephant foot.

“Whatever I do I want to do to the best of my ability. You have to know what you’re good at and I have to know that I’m going to do it well.” TOMS has just been launched here in Argentina and Alejo aims to expand the company across Latin America. Until recently all the shoes were made in Argentina, but in search of better quality and quicker service production moved to China. Alejo assured me that TOMS are produced in the best conditions and was also keen to stress that all shoes that are given away in Argentina continue to be made in Argentina: “we don’t want to take away work. My goal for 2009/10 is that every distributor gives away what they sell,” in other words what you sell in your country, you get in your country. He is committed to creating a self-sufficient system: “It’s part of helping a country, helping it grow up.”

With TOMS Argentina will look good every step of the way.

For more information go to www.tomsshoeslatino.com