Bragging Rights: August 2014 Warning for Tom’s Future was Spot On

I published this story in August 2014 about the PE buyout of Tom’s Shoes seeming strategically off. Fast forward to now and here’s the latest in Bloomberg about how things fared. The answer: not great.

The attempted comeback with a Nike veteran at the helm is in progress and in its early days. Tom’s has its work cut out to refocus its image as a fashionable sneaker purveyor vs a casual shoe company known for a single style. Their stated plan is to target Gen Z while maintaining the Millennials who were the original consumers of the brand. This may be an expensive and risky strategy given the brand has the most clout with Millennials, necessitating serious marketing spend towards reaching Gen Z. It’s something the brand has acknowledged will be challenging. No doubt that marketing will need to double down on messaging and compelling creative that clearly conveys the authenticity of the brand and its charitable component. The biggest question is how they’ll tackle the combination of the following:

A) A design-forward product — Taking cues from the hottest sellers on StockX or taking the understated Common Project style plain white shoe route?

B) Price point — Mid-range with limited production to create hype or an affordable and readily available “people’s shoe”?

C) Distribution — Mainly D2C, stoke the hype by selling at Kith, or stick with big box retailers that traditionally sold the brand?

D) Promotion — Can they come up with a hook that Gen Z falls in love with that also speaks to Millennials?

Lots of questions, major challenges, and I’m interested in seeing what’s next.