Aussie Soles raises $165K in public equity funding ahead of plans to list on US stock market
A Coolum Beach thong maker who started out with a humble Eumundi Markets stall has raised $165k from public shareholders ahead of plans to list on the American stock exchange.
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A Coolum Beach thong company which started as a humble Eumundi Markets stall has raised about $165,000 in crowd funding ahead of long-term plans to float on the American stock exchange.
Aussie Soles was launched in 2004 by Craig Taplin after noticing limited options in thongs that offered foot support for wearers in his former job as a footwear distributor in Canada.
Mr Taplin started running the business selling thongs from the Eumundi Markets and began distributing them to New Zealand a year later.
The burgeoning company has since sold more than two million shoes globally and has projected in excess of $3m in annual revenue this year with a valuation of $50m.
Earlier this month, Mr Taplin completed a public equity funding round via We Funder where he was able to raise $165,000 in capital from about 180 investors to increase exports in the US and Europe.
Mr Taplin said his long term goal is to list Aussie Soles on the Nasdaq within the next couple of years which requires companies to have at least 400 shareholders to be eligible to trade on it.
“I want to become a household name everywhere when I started and will always be working to achieve that,” Mr Taplin said.
“Living and getting into footwear in Canada, I realised the US market is so much larger compared to the $2bn industry in Australia, over there it’s worth $33bn.
“We’re trying to secure part of that market for our business, so there’s a lot of upside to the expansion we can make out of establishing ourselves in the US.”
Aussie Soles’ thongs are built with arch support and were developed with input and approval from podiatrists, which Mr Taplin said gives him a strong edge over his competitors.
In 2020, Mr Taplin opened his first bricks and mortar store on Memorial Drive in Eumundi which he closed down about six months later due to Covid-19 restrictions which halted in-store retail trade.
Following the setback, he has worked on diversifying his product line further with new arch support ugg boots and slippers which will be released in April or May.
The company currently has more than 500 retail outlets in Australia from sports stores to pharmacies as well as 30 distributors in New Zealand, one in the Solomon Islands and several more in the US and Europe.
Mr Taplin said his long term vision for his business is for it to become an established footwear brand nationally and abroad.
“Our distributors in the UK and US are smaller operators at the moment but we’re there to support and nurture them to grow as well,” Mr Taplin said.
“Right now I’m looking for distributors in Germany, France and Spain and other European countries as well as the US, targeting sports stores, podiatry and pharmacy stores over there as well like we have in Australia.”