Del Toro Finds New Life Under Onetime Customer Andrew Roberts
Andrew Roberts has turned his love of a chukka sneaker into his life’s work.
The owner and chief executive officer of Del Toro footwear was first exposed to the brand when he was living in Miami in 2016 working for a baby products company. Although he was drawn to the brand’s signature velvet slippers, he thought: “I’m not cool enough for velvet slippers.”
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He opted for the chukkas instead and soon received a slew of compliments on his footwear from friends and coworkers. “It became my favorite shoe brand,” he said.
Del Toro was founded in 2005 by Matthew Chevallard as an alternative to classic loafers and slippers. It was sold to a group of investors in 2018 and counted everyone from Carmelo Anthony, Joel and John Madden and LeBron James’ manager Maverick Carter as part of its ownership team. They reinvented the brand with a streetwear bent, adding apparel such as hoodies and sweatpants, as they sought to create the next lifestyle brand.
But their grandiose plans fell short and the brand was put up for sale. Roberts, who said he “lost a bit of interest” in Del Toro under its former owners because they had “moved away from its focus on Italian-made shoes with a Miami aesthetic and edge,” lined up a few friends and purchased the company in 2020.
His plan was to “bring it back to its roots. I really felt like Del Toro has a reason to exist.”
Then the pandemic hit and he began to question the wisdom of buying a brand whose hero product is a velvet tuxedo slipper when all weddings and events came to a screeching halt. He persevered, moved the headquarters to his hometown of New York and closed the Del Toro stores in Miami and Manhattan.
He also worked to liquidate the apparel during the Lord & Taylor bankruptcy sale and put the focus back on the quality footwear made in Milan and Naples. Once that was accomplished, Roberts took the opportunity to pull the brand from market and prepare for a relaunch. “No one was buying velvet tuxedo slippers so it took a lot of pressure off,” he said. “We shut down the site and rebuilt it in a way that we’re proud of. We communicated the ownership change and went back to the old logo. So the pandemic was actually a blessing in disguise.”
He relaunched Del Toro in 2021 focusing on five men’s silhouettes including the black velvet slipper. Other styles include a Milano loafer, a suede Napoli slipper, a house slipper and a suede chukka sneaker. Prices range from $195 for the Napoli slipper to $425 for the black velvet slipper. There are also a few women’s styles.
The brand has a handful of specialty store accounts but is primarily sold online on the Del Toro e-commerce site. “We saw a lot of multi-shoe orders,” he said, “because people were afraid we were going to shut down again.”
Going forward, Roberts said he hopes to expand the colors offered in the existing styles and also build out the women’s assortment. A women’s mule will be offered for this summer and he’s moved into formal accessories including bow ties, pocket squares, dress socks, suspenders and belts.
“We’ll continue to expand our silhouettes, but more carefully,” he said. “We’d rather do a few styles well.”
Roberts has begun partnering with other “like-minded companies” such as the Andy Roddick Foundation, which he worked with on a special tennis shoe with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the nonprofit. He’s also worked with Los Angeles artist Alli Conrad on a collaboration to benefit the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation as well as Litquidity, a finance meme company, with some proceeds going to Razom to provide aid to Ukraine. And this summer, a collection of dog accessories will launch in partnership with the rescue organization Love of All Dogs.
“At the end of the day, we’re selling shoes, so it’s important to lift up other brands that share our philosophy,” he said.
Although he admits that at 31 years old, with a team of only five working on the brand, he still has a lot to learn about running a company, he’s optimistic that Del Toro can eventually make its mark.
“I never thought I’d be running a shoe brand,” he said. “I’m a first-time CEO and I started out as a customer so I look at everything through a customer-centric lens. But I also have the drive to make sure it succeeds.”
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