Last week we had the pleasure of attending the TOMS for Target holiday market launch event in Los Angeles hosted by TOMS Founder and Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie. We managed to steal a few minutes of his time between chatting with his gorgeous pregnant wife and friends Jessica Alba and Jennifer Garner, and had the chance to ask him about the collaboration and some of his favourite memories at TOMS.
Read our Q&A below.
Sidewalk Hustle: Tell us how your collaboration with Target came about and what is most exciting about it?
Blake Mycoskie: One of the great things about Target that really differentiates them from other brands is their innovative designer collaborations. Like many, I have always been a fan, so when an opportunity came up to partner with Target to create an extension of the TOMS brand, I was thrilled! Myself and the TOMS design team were intimately involved in all aspects of the TOMS for Target collection, working side by side with Target’s team. For me, one of the most exciting things is that partnering with Target is allowing us to expand into new product categories like apparel and home goods and tie them back to the One for One® model TOMS is known for.
SH: What’s the most rewarding part of what you do?
BM: I’ve been fortunate in my life to be able to see the impact giving has had on those in need. Through our One for One® giving model, through which every purchase helps a person in need, we have been able to give more than 35 million pairs of new shoes. Just in time for the holidays, the TOMS for Target collection will offer another way for guests to give back. For each item purchased, an item is given, with the potential to provide more than 11 million meals, blankets and shoes to those in need.
SH: What are some of your short and longterm goals both personally and from a brand stand point?
BM: My long-term goal is to do everything in my power to inspire everyone at TOMS and our community to make sure that the idea of One for One is not just a trend, but a movement that is here to stay. My short-term goal is to make sure that the launch of our next One for One product in Spring 2015 resonates with our customers and continues to help people in need all around the world.
SH: What’s your favourite memory as chief shoe giver at TOMS?
BM: I have so many incredible memories as part of this journey thus far, but I can’t help going back to the first time I actually saw someone wearing TOMS in the early days. I was rushing through the airport and noticed a young woman wearing a red pair of TOMS Classics so I stopper her and thanked her for wearing them. She obviously did not recognize me and started telling me all about the TOMS mission and that we give a new pair to a child in need, and she did so with much passion it was infectious. I knew right then and there that our mission was inspirational, and that our business model could be sustainable.
