Innovation Project: BUS 4630-06
February 2, 2011
Veronica Creamer, Alex Hohmann,
Adam Holcombe, & Ian Swapp
“THE IDEA WAS GENIUS, really.”
TOMS Shoes has provided one of the most innovative business ideas the early 21st century has seen. Through the “One for One Movement”, TOMS has ushered in a truly altruistic business model which cannot be ignored by the broader consumer goods industry. By describing what TOMS Shoes is, why it is important, how the One for One idea originated and evolved functionally, and the business model utilized to compel it, a clear void is filled not only for those whose lives are affected at the Bottom of the Pyramid but also in the modus operandi of business in the United States today. This point is
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Before leaving Argentina Mycoskie studied the alpargata; a traditional Argentinean shoe worn by farmers for hundreds of years consisting of a rope base and a canvas or cotton fabric. Mycoskie returned to the United States with 200 pairs of alpargata shoes to test the market for his new venture. Recognizing he would need support, Blake advertised on Craigslist for business partners to assist him with his new company. Mycoskie originally opened a factory in Argentina to begin producing the alpargata-inspired shoes while leading the company from his Venice, California apartment. As the company grew exponentially, Mycoskie hired leading industry experts from Asics and Nike to assist with transforming the company from a small business venture into a worldwide shoe provider.
Shortly after launching TOMS Shoes, Blake returned to Argentina along with his fellow business partners and donated ten thousand pairs of shoes to needy children. As Linda Miller, fashion editor for NewsOK, so thoughtfully states, “For many children in need, a better tomorrow starts with the purchase of a pair of shoes today”.
Whereas an incumbent firm might struggle to justify a charitable contribution as a percentage of net income, the TOMS Shoes enterprise began with the premise that profit and giving are NOT mutually exclusive; instead they
Case A ends without any indication of what will become of the World Shoe project. In two days, Tom Hartge will
New Balance was founded by William J. Riley in 1906 in the city of Boston. Riley started by making arch supports for customers who had to spend all day on their feet. Over time the building of arch supports led to the creation of his first running shoe in 1925. As part of a local running club, Riley capitalized on an opportunity to improve running shoes of the time and his designs became widely popular. His new running shoes became so popular that by the 1940’s that production spread from running to many other sports. Then the expansion of the manufacturing significantly increased as he realized a need to running shoes with more selection for wider feet, and
Since 2006, Soles4Souls has been working to get the less fortunate shoes. Shoes is a very important thing, a mile walk to the well to get water without shoes could be a back breaking journey but with shoes it seems to be just another one of the days small tasks. Soles4Souls has also teamed up with Macy’s, they both decided on a goal of giving out 50,000 coats in the year of 2013. They did it and since then Soles4Souls and Macy’s has kept their partnership and have gave out a total of around 130,000 coats nationwide (Home-Soles4Souls). Their organization is located in Nashville, Tennessee where they are ranked 40th out of the top 100 highest populated metro areas according to the National Alliance to End
Zumiez Inc. history started off with the owner of the business wanting to do anything he could do to give back to his community. When Zumiez was first created their target market was in action sports retailing, when they really started making more money they started giving back in an even bigger way to 13 charity organizations in Snohomish County, Washington by purchasing jackets, flannels shirts and blankets to give away to those who couldn’t afford it. Up until that point Zumiez was a private company until their launch in the spring of 2005. By the time we hit 2012 Zumiez had already donated over 180,000 items to over 180 organizations in 21 states helping more than 60,000 men, women, and children. Tom’s philosophy of business and life has been there motto since day one. “We help our employees to become successful, which makes the company successful. This in turn allows us to use that success to help others and to develop our employees into community leaders on issues that matter to them”. As Tom always says, “it’s about the leverage- creating it and using it for the benefit of others, and in the process, of ourselves”
One of the last college classes that Knight takes at Stanford is a seminar to entrepreneurship. In this class be gave a presentation on how the running shoes form Japan could undercut brands like Adidas, which manufacture in European factories. The Japanese factories could produces shoes at a fraction of the cost of the European countries. So as soon as Knight graduated he informed his parents that he wanted to send the summer abroad experiencing life. What he forget to mention was the purpose of the trip which was to meet with a company that created Tiger shoes.
The co-founder of Toms travels to many different colleges to reach out to peers because he wants the new generations to be concerned and aware with different things. and helping others is one that everyone can do if they cant help by buying a pair they can help by not wearing shoes for 24 hours and that event that is called One Day Without Shoes, is targeted mostly to students because they are the ones with time and its a free advertising by
The shared value creation framework theorizes that managers should focus their value creation efforts on both shareholder value and value to society (Rothaermel, 2015). There are two specific ways that Nike could utilize the shared value creation framework to serve societal needs are the world: inner city design and engineering schools and selling basic shoes in African markets. These tactics would allow the company to realize benefits while at the same time having a significant positive effect on communities around the
Social responsibility as well as social responsible clothing such as Toms, One for One support socially worthy causes that impact the trend of social responsibility. This brand validates social causes and those who lack physical goods and financial donations such as the one for one movement. TOMS shoes come in a variety of styles and color, and promises customers that every pair of shoes they purchase, a pair would go to someone in need. According to Joanne Fritz, “Mycoskie's idea took off to such an extent that TOMS has now expanded into sunglasses, using the same giveback formula, coffee, the purchase of which provides water where it's needed, and TOMS invests in other social entrepreneurial enterprises. in fact, the TOMS giving universe keeps on expanding and now includes nutrition, healthcare, and education.” (Joanne Fritz, 2016)
In the commercial, it talks about “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.” I think every pairs of shoe they gave out to with the help of the organization they were able to distribute to the children that live in different part of the world. The founder of TOM’s shoe, Blake Mycoskie, travels to Argentina, he helps out children by gave them a pair of individual shoes like myself as a viewer was in touch by the fact that there’s people out there actually care about the conditions they live in running low with food and water. Ho uses a different approach to reach out to the viewer who gave him love and support. He wants the customers to get involved and be part of the TOMs program. The kids seem happy;
When people think about shoes most of them have one superior shoe company come to mind, Nike. This dominant company was founded by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1964. Little do some know this company hasn’t always been on the top of shoe companies. When it first started off it was called Blue Ribbon Sports, but it was later changed to its iconic name Nike in 1973. Matter in fact it was started in the back of a car, and now it’s worth roughly around $15 million dollars. This change didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of grit from Knight and Bowerman to achieve this elite status, which was obtained through two individuals with great ideas on how to reach it, and the grit to back their ideas up.
This case analysis will focus on the issues surround the lifestyle product company Holey Soles. Psychologist Ann Rosenberg founded the company in September 2002. She initially operated in her garage and backyard, until she recruited Joyce Groote (now current CEO of Holey Soles) and expanded the company into other parts of North America. Holey Soles focuses on creating innovative footwear made from their trademarked technology SmartCel and SoleTek, which is an injection-molded foam technology. As of July 2007, sales had grown at 300% in each of the last two years and the company was ranked number four in the 2006 Profit magazine ranking of Canada’s Emerging Growth Companies. However as they continue to operate, they
While the knowledge that many amenities that are expected in America are not remotely available in some regions of Africa is common, shoes usually do not top that list. While many American cities institute laws requiring those in public to wear shoes, some African villages find the concept of footwear foreign. The problem of shoelessness extends beyond just comfort, as foot injuries spread disease, create life long disabilities, and reduce the quality of living for many children. Giving shoes to these children, then, seems like a fitting answer to a desperate situation. Companies built upon that answer such as TOMS shoes, however, end up contributing to impoverished conditions that drive shoelessness rather than reducing it in the long run.
The primary target market of TOMS is males and females between the age of 19-24 that want to combine the creativity of being a trend-setter with the satisfaction of being socially responsible. This age range is a part of what is known as Generation Y, or the Millennials. Generation Y has brought a trend of social awareness and activity. From 2002 to 2005 the number of people volunteering went up 25%. This generation is all about giving back to the people, so Toms allows this group to give back by purchasing their shoes. TOMS has also done its homework on this group as well. Utilizing social media, TOMS reaches out to over 488,000 twitter followers, 280,000 Facebook fans, and several thousands of YouTube users. TOMS understands that generation Y prefers hands on involvement. In order to make that happen, TOMS fans are allowed to take part in a yearly One Day Without Shoes movement to understand what it is like to be shoe-less. In addition to the giving back and the social movements, TOMS shoes let young adults be expressive in their style. The plain shoe design makes way for creative minds to manipulate the shoe as anyone may please. TOMS is mainly focused in the U.S., but the shoes are available in over 30 countries globally
Since 2006, when the TOMS Shoes was founded, their ‘one for one’ business model has been widely embraced or criticized by different companies and the consumers. While, Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Company, was on trip to Argentina in 2006, he witnessed the extreme poverty and poor health conditions. After countersigning children walking barefoot, it dramatically heightened Blake’s awareness. Consequently, after witnessing those events, Mycoskie came up with a simple and innovating plan to create a for-profit business with a philanthropic component. Consequently, Blake created TOMS company with a unique principal and business model referred to ‘One for One’. TOMS ‘One for One’ is a unique business model, where for every pair of shoes purchased TOMS donates a pair of shoes to children in need in developing or underdeveloped countries. The company’s name ‘TOMS’ generated from the word ‘TOMORROW’, which was the original concept of the company, ‘shoes for tomorrow’.
Zappos.com, established in 1999, has rapidly become a strong competitor in online apparel and footwear sales. With the original corporate vison of offering the absolute best selection in shoes; the vision has evolved over the past several years to include the goal of being the retailer that “provides the absolute best service online -- not just in shoes, but in any category” (Zappos, 2014). The online retailer stocks millions of reasonably priced footwear products; carrying thousands of hard to find brand named shoes, handbags, apparel and accessories via the company website and 7,000 affiliate partners. In recognizing their rapid success, Zappos credits it to their commitment to the customer, stating,