Social Entrepreneurship Case Study with Gideon Shoes
Posted by joe
Interesting little story of social entrepreneurship on NPR, “Company Ties Shoes And Ethics Together” (April 7, 2012). Gideon Shoes was born out of a desire to support The Street University, a retreat for marginalized kids in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia.
The shoes are not cheap ($190 – $320 a pair), in part because the company emphasizes production in safe, ethical, highly monitored conditions — significantly raising production costs. The company has done a marvelous job generating publicity, but right now is selling just about 60 pair of shoes per month.
The story brings to mind another social entrepreneurship venture in the shoe biz — Toms (read or listen to more at “‘Soul Mates’: Shoe Entrepreneur Finds Love In Giving,” NPR All Things Considered, November 26, 2010).
Read or listen to the story about Gideon Shoes. Keeping in mind the company’s values and limited resources, what marketing strategy advice do you have for Gideon Shoes? Offer a target market and make some suggestions for Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.


The Bloomberg BusinessWeek cover story this week (“