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Toms did some sole searching and landed on a hard truth: shoppers are no longer sold on the “one for one” donation program it pioneered 15 years ago.
As part of a larger rebrand, Toms will donate one-third of its profits to grassroots charities in the US, approximately the amount it used to give away in slip-ons.
The backstory: In late 2019, after years of declining sales, Toms hinted it would walk away from donations to a more sustainable giving model. Then it was acquired by creditors.
- The pandemic hurt overall revenue, but execs told Bloomberg that e-comm accounted for more than half of last year’s sales.
More than the money...
Toms’s new look is one point in a larger plan to win over—all together now—Gen Z. In customer interviews, the brand learned younger shoppers wanted to see it support local causes.
Toms will also undertake some familiar youth-oriented rebrand initiatives, like...
- Updating its core shoe style with sneaker influences.
- Collabing on limited-edition footwear with partners like West Elm.
- Redesigning its website and logo, with input from DTC-beloved agency Red Antler.
Could it work? Brands aren’t strangers to revising their mission statements or their products in response to younger consumers’ preferences. But Tom’s has an extra challenge ahead: doing both at once. — HL