It was one of the first things he learned in college. “The first generation builds, the second expands and the third stone”. And yet, against this prognosis, Jordi Ponsgrandson of the founder of the family shoe company Toni Pons, has it all tied up to take the company to the next level. The brand, especially known for its espadrilles, has sold 58% more this first semester than between January and June of last year, a balance that strengthens its forecast of ending 2022 with a turnover of 27 million euros. These figures would mean an increase of more than 40% in turnover last year, and almost 60% in the last year before the pandemic.
The key, according to this businessman, is the combination of factors that occurs in Toni Pons: on the one hand, 76 years of experience; on the other, that they have young people at the helm “who want to take advantage of the opportunities, explain the project and make it grow”; and, also, that it is supported by three “healthy” lines of business.
The first are the multi-brand storesto which Toni Pons provides shoes so that they can sell them to the final public, and which still account for 60% of this company’s income company based in Girona. The second is the company’s big bet since Jordi Pons took the reins in 2016: its own stores. With the last two openings -an establishment in Madrid and another in Valencia that have been launched this summer-, the brand already has 17 sales outlets in Spain. In addition to another 8 in Saudi Arabia2 in Colombia and another in Malaysia. And lastly, the canal ‘online’which already represents 20% of the firm’s sales.
growth lines
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“We had a very strong product and product history, and it was about being able to explain it with the opportunities that each moment offers”, Pons states in relation to this commitment to the own store and the ‘online’. “We see it as a sum of forces: we continue betting a lot on where we have always been, we do not want to become a empresa ‘business-to-consumer’ [de venta directa al público]What happens is that being a more recent channel, scalability seems greater”, explains the businessman, who at the same time recognizes that having their own stores has helped them to be more present in the imagination of important clients.
At the moment, the strategy is set there: to exploit both these three paths, as well as the power of the Spain brand in the Footwear industry (and more of esparto) to reach more people, more countries and the channels with the best presence. And, above all, in weather general economic uncertainty. For now, Toni Pons, whose production is outsourced to factories in The Rioja and in Alicante, has opted to adjust margins and has managed not to have to raise the price of its products, although it does not rule out having to do so in the future. “Obviously, if the manufacturing possibilities are impossible, we will have to take measures”, concludes Pons.