TOMS Shoe Drop in Argentina

By Laura Trythall

Alpargatas are as fundamentally Argentine as mate and dulce de leche. The traditional shoes are worn by Argentines of all shapes, sizes and classes; from the Patagonian cordillera to the porteño avenidas. They’ve even made the fashion culture leap to America, spurred on by the philanthropic mission behind TOMS.

The idea for TOMS hit Blake Mycoskie during a trip to Argentina two years ago. The American made two crucial observations about Argentina: how many children wandered the streets barefoot and the simple brilliance of alpargatas, the traditional Argentine shoes.

The two came together and TOMS – ‘shoes for tomorrow’ – was born: for every pair bought, a pair would be given away. With Blake serving as lead designer and face of the company in the US, Alejo Nitti stepped in as the Latin American head, managing the production and supply of the shoes to the US.

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.

Alejo with children during a shoe drop at Los Piletones in Villa Soldati.
Photo courtesy of TOMS Shoes

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 honored at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Awards celebrating 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 seen tremendous growth, 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.

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 striped TOMS he was given. Bearing the colours of the River football club, they were “not for him. Maybe if he lived in Palermo, but no, not for him.”

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.”

Alejo and TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie during the South Africa shoe drop.
Photo courtesy of TOMS Shoes

Until recently all the shoes were made in Argentina, but in search of better quality and quicker service some production was moved to China. Alejo insisted that TOMS are produced in the best conditions and stressed that all shoes 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