Jared Fix has had his plate full since joining Toms as chief executive officer in July.
The shoe company, best known for its Alpargata canvas slip-on style, has recently leaned into diversifying its product lineup to focus more on sandals, espadrilles and casual sneakers. These efforts have had a positive effect on sales and brand momentum. Now, Fix is charged with taking that success to the next level.
“I was brought in to accelerate and increase the pace of change,” Fix told FN in an interview at the brand’s showroom during the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) market week in December. Before joining Toms, Fix served as the chief transformation officer at Allbirds until November of 2023, which he said prepared him for his current role.
“I had the benefit of going through a proper transformation at Allbirds,” the executive said. “A lot of principles we applied there are equally applicable here, even if the answers are different.”
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At Toms, the transformation will center on five key pillars: brand, product, channel, operating and people. To make it happen, Fix has bolstered the brand’s leadership team with top industry players. In the last six months, Toms added its former chief merchandising officer Silvia Mazzucchelli and former PepsiCo president Brad Jakeman to its board. Within the leadership team, Toms named Wolverine Worldwide veteran Camila Wolfson as its global chief merchandising officer, Puma and Victoria’s Secret veteran Amber Tarshis as chief brand and impact officer and Pelican Products former executive Brian Lo as chief transformation officer.
“Within the leadership team, really getting fantastic brand and product leadership was key,” Fix said.
From a brand and marketing perspective, Toms is leaning back into its roots of supporting important impact causes that promote children’s education and health, something Tarshis will oversee directly in her impact-focused role. At the same time, Toms is also emphasizing its position in the market as a brand for the entire family and working with influencers to connect to more consumers.
“In 2025 and beyond, you’ll see us present a more balanced, inclusive view of the brand, showcasing not just our beloved women’s styles, but our amazing offerings for men and kids,” Tarshis told FN in an email interview. “This year, we’ve seen great success working with top influencers and plan to lean into even more influencer marketing next year.”
From a product perspective, Toms will continue to emphasize product diversity outside of its core Alpargata with investments in sneakers, boots and dress casual styles. When Toms’ former CEO Magnus Wedhammar joined the brand in 2020, he helped execute a turnaround which, in part, included pivoting away from relying too much on the Alpargata. At the time, he joined the brand as it faced negative credit ratings and bankruptcy rumors.
While Alpargata sales still make up over half of the brand’s assortment and business to this day, Toms is rethinking how the icon can show up in different ways. According to Wolfson, “fresh takes” on the Alpargata, like a lace-up version launching in spring/summer 2025, “are resonating well with customers and continue to drive momentum for the Alpargata franchise.” At the same time, Toms is making sure its core design codes show up in other categories as well to make sure every product — whether boot, sneaker or slipper — is identifiably a Toms product.
Within a bolstered product assortment, Wolfson emphasized the importance of having versatile options that can live in more than one season.
“Sneakers, in particular, have been a strong addition, offering the perfect balance for days when it’s not quite warm enough for sandals, but not cold enough for boots,” she told FN.
From a channel perspective, Toms is looking to enter new doors and become overall less promotional in the marketplace.
“There’s going to be retailers you might not expect to see Toms in,” Fix said. “But if the product is in danger of being bought, we’ve got a pretty good opportunity to meet our consumers there.”
While the roadmap is in place, there are challenges that lay in wait. For example, the threat of new tariffs on foreign imports could have a major impact on Toms, which does 80 percent of its production in China and 20 percent in Vietnam. Additionally, a warmer fall in the U.S. followed by a shorter selling period between Thanksgiving and Christmas made for a challenging fall season this year for the brand.
But things already look brighter heading into fall 2025. According to Fix, buyers have been receptive to Toms’ new array of products.
“Whether it’s dress, casual, sneakers, sandals, those categories for us have a lot of momentum and a lot of season on season growth,” Fix said. “The sell-in for those categories is very straightforward, with a lot of support. And the buyers are leaning in.”
