About Us
Hi,
It’s Dan here, founder of Archies Footwear. We often get asked how we got
started as a company and how Archies Arch Support Thongs came about.
Where it started
Coming from a background in Physiotherapy, I grew sick and tired of warning my patients who required arch support to stop wearing ‘typical’ flat thongs. Let’s face it though, thongs are a way of life for Aussies and back in 2011 it was tough to convince people to let go of their old, faithful pair of thongs when there were no supportive options on the market that looked like ‘normal thongs’.
The mission
So, I set out on a mission to create a pair of thongs that not only offered
orthotic support, but a pair that my mates and I would happily wear. I was
determined to fix the long list of issues associated with ‘regular’ thongs and
redefine what your pair ought to be!
The journey
After five years of trial and error, with input from some of Melbourne’s
leading Podiatrists and Physiotherapists, Archies Arch Support Thongs were
born! Initially, we ‘slugged’ it out at local markets in our Hometown. When
winter hit, I quit my job as a Physio, filled my car to the roof with thongs and
chased the sun all the way up to Noosa QLD. It was all go-go-go and a
stressful fight for survival on a weekly basis just to pay our bills/debt,
however, we managed to scrape through (just!) as we eventually took on
more and more retailers!
Where we are today
Fast forward several years and Archies Thongs are now stocked in over 3000
retail locations around Australia Archies Thongs have also become the
choice of summer footwear for many of Australia’s elite athletes. We have
partnered with some of Australia’s biggest sporting stars including Dustin
Martin, with more on the way! We are also the thongs of choice for many
AFL, AFLW, NRL and other pro sporting teams!
Over the years we have donated over 25,000 pairs of Archies Thongs to a
non for profit organisation Soles4Souls and over 15,000 pairs to Australian
healthcare workers.
Our team
Despite the fact that we have grown a lot as a business over the last few
years, we have not lost what’s made us who we are. Every day we come to
work with the same goals in mind: To continue to provide Australia with the
world’s most comfy and supportive thongs and also to provide the absolute best customer service we possibly can.