Thongs Australia is on the hunt for local manufacturers to drive new category growth.
Founded by the ex-GM of Tissot and his two business partners in 2017, the brand has collaborated with Australian brands, such as VB and Vegemite, and just launched on The Iconic.
According to co-founder and CEO Scott Jungwirth, Thongs Australia is the only flip-flop brand that is 100% designed and developed in locally. .
Jungwirth said being Australian made is an important asset for the brand.
“Manufacturing our thongs here in Australia has meant we have avoided the well reported issues around supply chains from Asia and other parts of the world, including increasing freight costs and very long manufacturing lead times,” Jungwirth said.
“While we are not immune to inflationary pressures, being able to control our product quality and supply is incredibly important, particularly as we are such a seasonable product.
“Supporting Aussie Made brands isn't just about the business side of things, it's very much about the people and their jobs.”
Jungwirth said that while being Australian made is important, it’s also challenging, particularly around sourcing new manufacturers to explore new categories.
“We find it at times very challenging to source locally made products with some of the categories we would like to add,” he revealed. “Fortunately, we have done so with towels and continue to seek out suitable partners for other Aussie lifestyle products.
“When we started Thongs Australia, we had nothing. We had to start from scratch, which meant designing CAD's for manufacturing tooling, endless trial and error with our rubber compound, but we have finally nailed it and developed a manufacturing expertise in the category for Australia, which previously didn't exist.”
Thongs Australia has reportedly generated close to $1 million in sales over the last five years, with its main manufacturer recently becoming a shareholder in the business.
“Our priority is to continue to manufacture the best quality classic thongs in the market,” Jungwirth said. “We have so much scope to grow this part of our business with new colours, customisation and collaborations all to be expanded.
“That said, we are continually in discussion with Aussie manufacturers for summer products such as T's and towels, as well as all-year-round opportunities like beanies.
“Eventually, if Thongs can grow as we hope, then we would love to try and create new manufacturing expertise for Australia in categories currently manufactured abroad.”