Check out this article about how TOMS founder is keeping his new product a secret until launching day!
Toms
Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie is keeping a lid on what's next
Mycoskie finishing his first book, titled "Start Something
That Matters."
LOS ANGELES — Toms Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie is
one of my favorite Angelenos, if you can call him one, as he spends so much of
his time traveling on shoe drops in South America and Africa and giving
speeches about his One for One business model (for every pair of shoes sold, a
pair is donated to someone in need).
I caught up with him over tea at his Santa Monica,
Calif., office recently, and even though I had to use my BlackBerry, I wanted
to take a picture of his wonderfully wacky outfit. He was wearing a nubby Edun
cardigan with pants he picked up at a market in Nepal and carrying his journal,
purchased at the San Telmo market in Buenos Aires. He was also wearing Toms, of
course, from the latest collection, inspired by the journals and images left by
activist Dan Eldon, the young photographer who was killed in 1993 covering the war
in Somalia. (The shoes have a fingerprint-print, which Mycoskie took from
Eldon's passport.)
It's appropriate that Mycoskie looks a little like a
guru, because thousands of people from Seattle to Tampa and points between
followed him recently in spending a day without shoes to raise awareness for
those who do not have a choice. AOL employees, including Arianna Huffington,
went barefoot, and so did the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, Charlize Theron and
Russian model Anna Vyalitsyna. It was quite a turnout, especially considering
the brand isn't yet 5 years old.
Mycoskie recently commissioned studies to measure the
effect of the million-plus pairs of shoes that Toms has donated worldwide. Not
that he's anywhere close to completing his goal of stamping out foot diseases
that can spread from the ground to bare feet. To that end, on June 7, he's
announcing a new product that will guide the next phase of growth for his
business.
But he's keeping that product shrouded in mystery —
literally hidden in a box, which he presented to an audience for the first time
last month while giving the keynote speech at a South by Southwest Conference
in Austin, Texas.
I tried to play 20 questions with him. Is it bigger
than a breadbox? Will it sell at the same stores as Toms shoes? Is it a product
in the fashion space? But he wouldn't budge. He says his staff doesn't even
know what it is. He asked retailers to purchase the product sight unseen.
"If they open the box and don't think (the product) is a fit for them,
they can send it back to us," he said. "And I do believe it can be
sold in 50 percent of our stores, and that it will open up new doors, and new
places. Our first big retail account was actually a furniture store," he
pointed out.
The plan for June 7 is to distribute 200 of the
mystery boxes to influential people around the world, and to have them open the
boxes simultaneously. (Which could be exciting, considering the folks with whom
Mycoskie keeps company — such as Bill Clinton and Morgan Spurlock.) Until then,
we'll just have to keep guessing.
From a fashion perspective, it's incredible how many
people are wearing Toms, which seem to be almost as popular as flip-flops. In
June, the summer collection will land in stores, with a very cool-looking
crochet style. And for fall, Toms has collaborated with the Row on a collection
of shoes designed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Mycoskie is also putting the finishing touches on his
first book, titled "Start Something That Matters," out Sept. 6.
"It's the No. 1 question I get asked: 'I have an idea, how do I get it
started?' And I think I have some ideas to help people with that," he
said.
Part of the book is about challenging people — to
volunteer at a homeless shelter, start a nonprofit or start a giving program at
their for-profit business, he explained. "It's not only an entrepreneurial
book, it's personal."
The book also makes a case for simplicity —
simplicity in design, message and in how you live. "People are addicted to
stuff," said Mycoskie, who lives on a houseboat to keep his stuff in
check. "They think they can't live without it. But intellectually, they
also understand how not having a lot of stuff to keep, and take care of, lets
you lead a more free life."
Except that Mycoskie sells shoes, and he doesn't want
you to buy just one pair. "That is a dilemma," he acknowledged.
"But everything has its flaws."
At least
Toms don't take up a lot of room.
