The Ledger
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TOMS manufactures over 40% of its donated shoes in recipient countries
“Back in 2000, I think it was, no, 12, actually, we made a pledge to manufacture as many shoes as we could in the countries that we give in, and today, we're manufacturing over 40% of our giving shoes in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, India you know, lots of d…”
Mycoskie: For-profit giving models are more sustainable than charitable donation drives
“Dependent on other people's donations, and what if they don't do it, and, you know, that doesn't seem like a very sustainable way to give these kids shoes, and then that led to, you know, well, what if there was a business, you know, instead of a charity and d…”
Business models are more sustainable than relying on recurring charitable donations
“That's, once again, dependent on other people's donations, and what if they don't do it, and, you know, that doesn't seem like a very sustainable way to give these kids shoes, and then that led to, you know, well, what if there was a business, you know, instea…”
TOMS scaled revenue from $300K to $450M in its first seven years
“At that point, we were, I mean, we did the first year in business, I want to say we did about 300,000. In the second year, we did about three million. And the third year, we did Like, fifteen million, and the fourth year we went to, like, sixty million. Wow. I…”
TOMS pioneered the one-for-one giving business model in the fashion industry
“No fashion company or shoe company had ever, like, given something away every time they sold it”
Mycoskie admits early TOMS shoes were poor quality; charity drove sales
“Yeah, I mean, in the early days, I think that's the primary driver of why people bought Toms. The shoes were, frankly, not that good a quality. They didn't last as long as we had hoped they would. I mean, you know, they were different, they were stylish, et ce…”
Mycoskie: TOMS scaled from $300k to $60M revenue in four years
“The first year in business, I want to say we did about 300,000. In the second year, we did about three million. And the third year, we did Like, fifteen million, and the fourth year we went to, like, sixty million.”
Mycoskie: Early TOMS shoes were low quality and lacked durability
“The shoes were, frankly, not that good of quality. They didn't last as long as we had hoped they would.”
Mycoskie: TOMS reached $450M in annual sales within seven years
“We went from basically from zero to four hundred and fifty million dollars in sales on an annual basis in, like, seven years.”
Mycoskie: TOMS manufactures over 40% of giving shoes in recipient countries
“But ultimately, back in 2000, I think it was, no, 12, actually, we made a pledge to manufacture as many shoes as we could in the countries that we give in, and today, we're manufacturing over 40% of our giving shoes in countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, India you…”
Mycoskie: TOMS was the first fashion company with a one-for-one model
“No fashion company or shoe company had ever, like, given something away every time they sold it”
Early TOMS celebrity endorsements were entirely organic without any PR outreach
“Without any work on our own, we just started seeing celebrities wearing these shoes, and they started getting photographed by the paparazzi, and then it started showing up in things like People Magazine, and Us Weekly”
TOMS has donated more than 70 million shoes across 70 countries
“By the way, Tom's has given away more than seventy million shoes in 70 countries around the world.”
TOMS took zero outside investment until selling 50% to private equity
“Back in 2014, Blake sold half of the company to a private equity group. Up until then, Tom's had never had a single investor.”
TOMS is short for 'Tomorrow's Shoes' because it fit the heel tag
“When it came time to put a tag on the shoe, we couldn't fit the word tomorrows onto the tag, because the tag was really small on the heel, so we shortened the word tomorrows to toms, and that's how the word toms came.”
TOMS sold 2,200 shoes in one day with only 80 in stock
“And the next Sunday, it was like on the cover of the calendar section of the LA Times, and that day we sold 2200 pairs on the website. But I only had like 80 pairs in my apartment.”
Mycoskie: TOMS sold 2,200 pairs online in one day after LA Times feature
“So I did interview her, told her the story, you know, emailed her a picture of one of the shoes, and the next Sunday, it was like on the cover of the calendar section of the LA Times, and that day we sold 2200 pairs on the website.”
Blake Mycoskie: TOMS was originally conceived as a one-time philanthropic project
“It was like, okay, there's 250 kids in this village. I want to come back by Christmas and give them all a new pair of shoes. So I'm going to go sell these shoes, and I'm going to come back, and then we'll figure out what we're going to do. Like, it was not a b…”
Blake Mycoskie: TOMS was named because 'Tomorrow's' didn't fit on shoe tags
“When it came time to put a tag on the shoe, we couldn't fit the word tomorrow's onto the tag, because the tag was really small on the heel, so we shortened the word tomorrow's to toms, and that's how the word toms came.”
Blake Mycoskie bootstrapped TOMS without investors before selling 50% to private equity
“Back in 2014, Blake sold half of the company to a private equity group. Up until then, Tom's had never had a single investor.”
Guy Raz: TOMS has given away over 70 million shoes in 70 countries
“Tom's has given away more than seventy million shoes in 70 countries around the world.”
Raz: Paige Mycoskie designed the logo for Blake's company, TOMS
“Paige actually designed the logo for Blake's company, Tom's.”
Raz: Paige and Blake Mycoskie founded their companies on the same day
“By the way, according to Paige's mom, Paige and her brother Blake started their respective companies on the very same day in 2006, February 26, to be exact, which also happens to be Paige's birthday.”
Smith: Cotopaxi was inspired by Warby Parker and TOMS
“It was, I was inspired by Warby Parker, my classmates in school. I was inspired by Tom's shoes and I thought, you know, this is a way I can make a meaningful impact in the world.”
A chance encounter at a Buenos Aires wine bar inspired TOMS
“And it was actually after about being down there for about three weeks when I met serendipitously a few women that were in a wine bar that were talking in English, which was nice, because most everyone was speaking Spanish, and I didn't understand most of what…”