Bombas CEO and SVP on the Success of Their Comfortable Slippers and the ‘Profound Impact’ of Their One-to-One Donations
As we emerge from a snowy winter season, a select group of people might have been a bit cozier than others as they forged through the chilliest months of the year: those that received Bombas slippers during the holidays.
While some fans of Bombas might primarily associate the premium basics brand with high quality socks, the New York-based label is experiencing rapid growth in a different category: footwear, with slippers accounting for 24% of revenue this past holiday season.
After Bombas designers were struck by a sock-like knit slipper they found abroad on an inspiration trip, the brand decided to make their own version of the item. The product was a hit, and each footwear product entry released over the last several years has outperformed expectations. The company’s footwear category is now its second largest, surpassing underwear and T-shirts.
Bombas’ co-founder and chief executive officer David Heath and Tamara Conlin, senior vice president of merchandising and design, sat down for an interview with FN to unpack the success of their growing footwear category.
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“We know that our customers, regardless of season, really are looking for comfort and think comfort is an emotional, a functional need,” Conlin said. “And we look to be able to serve that through the technical details that we have within our footwear, within our slippers — the complexity of the cushion and how we layer and the materials that we use. And we really think about the tactile nature and the feel and the emotion that our customers can get out of the product, and we definitely believe that comes in both function and form.”
Bombas’ biggest footwear hit is the cloud-like Sunday Slipper, which made it onto Google’s Holiday 100 list in 2024 and is up 437% in sales compared to this time last year. It’s a fluffy shoe designed with sherpa inside and out in addition to a memory foam and EVA midsole; a thin rubber outsole makes the shoe a feasible choice for someone taking a quick jaunt outside.
Meanwhile, an option that can definitely be worn outside is the Friday Slide, a two-strap waterproof sandal made from lightweight EVA — and the brand is open to further growth in the outdoor market. Additional Bombas footwear options include the Gripper Slipper, Sunday Mule Slipper, Nest Slipper, Ballet Slipper and Gripper Slipper Bootie, all of which are ideal cozy-casual options for a weekend of lounging.
While business is looking good lately, the Bombas team members have more than profit on their minds. The brand was founded with a philanthropic mission at its heart: for every pair of socks purchased, a pair is donated to people experiencing homelessness. Socks, an often overlooked but vital wardrobe item, remain one of the top requested items from homeless shelters. Bombas, which has donated more than 160 million items of clothing to date, has more than 4,000 giving partners across all 50 states, with some partners as far as Juneau, Alaska.
Heath said, “For us to be able to interact with that community directly and realize that maybe there’s giving partners who need calf socks or warmer socks in the winter, because their areas get really cold, but in other places like Florida or California they want socks that are cool and maybe low cut all year round. So the demands and understanding the specific needs of all of our giving partners has allowed us to really refine our giving strategy to make sure that the impact that we’re having is incredibly high.”
While acknowledging that socks aren’t an end to homelessness nor do they address its root causes, Heath shared that the impact of their donations is felt on both the individual level and on a macro scale. He likened Bombas’ giving strategy to the ripples formed by a pebble tossed in water, explaining that homeless shelters often cut into their own budget to provide socks — so alleviating that burden helps increase their funding, which is generally limited in the first place.
Heath said of their charitable efforts, “We see the follow on effects as actually being very, very large. Maybe on an individual basis, maybe one single pair of socks outside of making someone feel good, or have them have dry feet for a little bit, maybe doesn’t make a huge difference — but magnifying that by the quantities that we’re donating, you just start to see that that has really, really profound impact.”
While staying true to its philanthropic mission, Bombas has its eye on innovation.
“We’re always saying, ‘Well, what if we took the comfort of a Hoka running shoe, but combined it with the style of an Ugg, or a Birkenstock?’ or something like that,” Heath said of their product development process.
He continued, “We’re always trying to think from an innovation and positioning standpoint, what is currently not being offered in the marketplace, that we think we have a unique stance on given our expertise in feet and technology related to foot comfort, and being able to combine different aspects from different parts of the footwear world to come together in the representation of the Bombas brand — which is accessible, easy, fun, nothing that’s too serious. But from the moment you put any of our products on, it should have that, ‘Oh my god, this is the most comfortable thing I’ve ever felt,’ feeling.'”
